Monday 28th January
Cricket Web Red v Cricket Web Colts
CW Oval
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
The Colts continued to struggle to come to terms with the shorter form of the game, and for the second consecutive game they were frustrated by the lesser fancied half of the Cricket Web Red batting order. Another promising start with the ball was blunted by a determined fightback, featuring Manjunath Reddlapalli with some distinction. And after the Colts fought into a competitive position, they collapsed to a disappointing defeat.
Reddlapalli joined Dauth at the crease in the 30th over at 123-4. Thad Bochat had just claimed his first wicket of the innings, snapping up Kearsley for 21, and the Reds looked to be struggling after a solid start. The situation was eerily similar to the first meeting of the two teams, though Dobson (2) had earlier failed to negotiate a Pares inswinger. Again Dauth played a big hand in the revival, grinding out another half-century and ultimately perishing in the 70s.
Advancing down the track he chipped a Weber delivery to long-on for 73, and the CW Under-19 captain came to the crease for his first innings of the season. He joined Reddlapalli, playing a calm innings of 15 from 23, and the two began their union by pushing the ball around. That tentativeness blossomed to confidence in the remaining overs. CW Red scored 60 off the last 7 overs, including 16 off the 50th. Reddlapalli raised his 50 at a run-a-ball and finished unbeaten on 51 from 51. His younger partner Ritchie was unbeaten on 44, having hit two sixes straight down the ground in his 42-ball stay.
CW Colts faced 245 for victory on a surface still assisting the seam bowlers. That assistance was used to great effect by the pairing of Watt and Kennett, who shared 3 wickets in the opening 9 overs. There was need for watchful batting, but Chris Butler had little desire to comply. Instead he attacked the ball on the offside and raised his 50 from 50 balls. Unfortunately he was the victim of his own enthusiasm, skying a towering catch to Watt when he had 55. Jennifer Law took her cue to accelerate from a careful start and she too brought up a half-century. The required run rate had fallen as low as 4.5 per over when Watt was recalled to replace Sean Bennett.
The fast bowler found the thin edge of the bat and Law had to walk after Mork gathered comfortably behind the stumps. The wicket slowed the run rate nearly to a halt, increasing the pressure in the approach to the final 10 overs of the chase. Ritchie reaped the rewards of this pressure and claimed 2 wickets with his offspin, including an 82mph quicker ball to uproot Wilson's offstump. Tarick Weber got one more blow in - a slash over third man for six - but the Kennett cleaned up with 4 wickets and the Colts were limited to 207.
Cricket Web Red innings 244-5 (50 overs)
RJ Dauth 73 (110), M Reddlapalli 51* (51), ZJ Ritchie 44* (42), MD Luff 35 (54)
DW Pares 2-43 (10)
Cricket Web Colts innings 207 (45 overs)
CR Butler 55 (58), JA Law 55 (71), J Griffen 33 (52)
DM Kennett 4-42 (7), ZJ Ritchie 3-39 (7)
Cricket Web Red won by 37 runs.
Man of the Match: ZJ Ritchie (Red)
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Cricket Web Blue v Masters XI
PDV Dome
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Cricket Web Blue overcame a brilliant partnership between Damien Martyn and Inzamam-ul-Haq, and ultimately snatched victory by a comfortable 43 runs. Inzamam stood out in the stand of 82 for the fourth wicket. He struck 6 fours in an innings of 60 from 54 balls.
The Masters XI were always facing a tall task to overhaul the score of 281-8 by CW Blue. And after Inzamam was caught well by Dunn at third man, the Blues were right on top of the game. Camps followed soon after with the wicket of Martyn for 48, leaving a required rate of 7.4 and the weight of hopes on the broad shoulders of Lance Klusener. On this occasion Zulu failed to reach his full potency and though he hit two fours and a six, he made just 25 from 30 balls and was out just prior to the slog overs.
Geraint Jones pulled Dunn into the stands for six and supplied some strand of hope with an innings of 24 from 19 balls. Yet it was Dunn who laughed last, finding the bottom edge of another pull shot, as Alex Crampton took a low catch. Sriram delighted in a game all-but-won, improving his innings tally to 4 wickets and continuing an outstanding start to his List-A career.
Earlier Dinu DeSilva, the former CW XI batsman, scored his third List-A hundred to remind the selectors of his abilities in the shorter form. It took a direct hit from the fielder at square leg to end his innings, and by then he had compiled 121 from 132 balls. The Blues, outside of DeSilva, were never stunning in their turn at the crease. They pressured the fielders rather than dominated the bowlers, though some 79 runs were scored off the final 9 overs of the innings. Luke Tyson hit a couple of lusty blows, including the shot of the innings, a authoritative lofted cover drive to a Streak noball. The score of 281-8 seemed better than average, and the new ball application of Demeza and Camps resigned the Masters XI to a struggle. The key wicket of Lara cost just one ball, caught at slip driving at Demeza.
Cricket Web Blue innings 281-8 (50 overs)
MW DeSilva 121 (132), LA Camps 47 (49), SE Fuller 32 (52)
T Henderson 2-54 (10), HH Streak 2-59 (10)
Masters XI innings 238 (47.3 overs)
Inzamam-ul-Haq 60 (54), DR Martyn 48 (69), HJH Marshall 42 (59)
G Sriram 4-42 (8.3), LA Camps 2-33 (10)
Cricket Web Blue won by 43 runs.
Man of the Match: MW DeSilva (Blue)
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Cricket Web Green v Cricket Web Black
CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
For the first time this season Cricket Web Black were truly tested, but Gerard Armstrong and Zac Gelman held their nerve to secure a 5-wicket victory. A target of 231 looked in easy reach of the Blacks until a double strike by Tom Halsey complicated the run chase. Armstrong played well for his 51 and singles were all that was required at the end of the innings.
The demands of the chase were never strenuous after James Stedman and Ash Chaulk raced to a century stand within the first 15 overs of the innings. Stedman flicked Halsey over square leg for six to raise his fifty from 40 balls. When Chaulk attempted the same shot against the legspin of Corrin, however, he succeeded only in picking out Scott for 41. The slow start for Cloete (8) continued as he punched a slower ball back to the bowler Xavier Rose. The strike slowed the innings and accounted for the streaky shot that Stedman played on 77. The right-hander attempted to clear mid-off against Rob Malone jr., but was caught by the leaping Raftery. So Blackman and Armstrong settled in to try to polish off the chase with significantly less glamour.
Halsey struggled to spin the ball all day, but it worked to his favour when he struck Blackman (25) on the pad with one that did not turn. The delivery that accounted for Dan Smith (1) soon after was far more special. A slow legbreak beat an attempted on-drive and smashed into offstump. It was a dismissal that would do Shane Warne proud, but the celebrations were muted as the Greens focused on defending the 38 runs required by CW Black. The required rate was down to 2, and Gelman was calm in ushering Blackman to his half-century. The next chance was offered to Tom Halsey at square leg, but the legspinner dropped the sitter and allowed the winning run to be scored in the same motion.
At the start, Kev Gough swung the ball at pace and undermined the CW Green top order that lost 5 wickets for 68 runs. Darren Dubb-Lynch and Sunil Reddy faced the task of rebuilding, though they had the advantage of several overs to do so. Reddy scored a composed 34 and then turned a delivery from Neil Pickup into the hands of Blackman at legslip. It allowed Halsey another opportunity to prove his batting credentials. He did so in partnership of 112 with Dubb-Lynch and ended unbeaten on 48. Dubb-Lynch made count his early hard work and advanced from 25 off 56 balls to 82 off 115 by the innings end. The fighting efforts allowed CW Green the respectability of 230-6, but though their bowlers fought hard, it was never likely to be enough to overcome CW Black.
Cricket Web Green innings 230-6 (50 overs)
DY Dubb-Lynch 82* (115), TC Halsey 48* (56), S Reddy 34 (59)
KJ Gough 3-55 (10), ZE Gelman 2-34 (10)
Cricket Web Black innings 231-5 (41.3 overs)
JE Stedman 77 (67), GAJ Armstrong 51* (56), AP Chaulk 41 (45)
TC Halsey 2-54 (10)
Cricket Web Black won by 5 wickets.
Man of the Match: JE Stedman (Black)
