CWC Round 6 Review/Round 7 Preview!
A week that has shaken up the points table, and builds to an exciting mid-season slug fest for top position!
@honestbharani's Honest Hunks picked up their 2nd win of the season by beating
@jimmy101's Picasso Moon by just 5 runs in another low-scoring thriller from the bottom of the points table. The Hunks lost the toss and were sent in to bat first, and Dan Ralph took 4/5 opening the bowling to reduce them to 5/4 in the 3rd over! Manmohan Ghoshdashtidar (28 off 44) and Chunky Kuttikkad (39* off 19) bailed them out of trouble, taking them to 129/7 by the end of the innings. Dan Ralph followed up his heroics with the ball by top scoring with 44 off 38 opening the batting, and at 50/1 in the 8th over the stage was set for the Moon's first ever CWC victory. But that's when the Hunks turned it around! After top scoring in the first innings, the wonderfully named Chunky Kuttikkad took 2/8 with two tight overs of spin, including a maiden over, as his side put the squeeze on the Moon's middle order. It all came down to the final over, with 6 runs needed in 6 balls and with just 1 wicket in hand! Burchard edged the first ball from Sunanda to Profulla at fly slip, and the visitors were off and celebrating a thrilling victory!
Dynamo Schmaltzberg cruised to a comfortable 5 wicket victory over
@morgieb's Inner Western Wombats. Electing to bowl first on the Wombat's dry and worn pitch the visitors bowled IWW for just 106. Skipper Drew Ancell took 3 early wickets to reduce ICC to 57/4, before medium-pacer Christian Owen bundled out the lower-middle order with 5/14 in 3.3 overs. Young pacers Simon Lickley chipped in with 2 wickets as well. In response the Dynamos lost 3 wickets in the powerplay, but the target was low enough that 20s from Holding, Kurusumuttu and Hardy were enough to see them home. They won at a canter too - finishing the chase in 81 deliveries.
@JOJOXI's difficult CWC season continued with a loss at the 5DNOL stadium to FHK. The hosts elected to bat first on dustbowl showing more wear than usual (due to a heavy schedule of league cricket), and managed to score 140/7 in their 20 overs. Kovrig (47 off 36) and Yau (34 off 29) top scored, while all 6 of the bowlers utilised by WCC took a wicket. In reply Michael Spavor struck twice in two balls in the 2nd over, after which Lester Shum and Lai O Yin did their thing. The spinners took 5/54 in their 8 overs to derail the chase, with Liam Evans (34 off 32) the only batter to survive longer than 20 balls. WCC were bowled out for 110 in 19.3 overs, giving FHK their 5th win out of 6 games in the CWC so far!
And finally, the biggest result of the week -
@Magrat Garlick's Dynamo Morpork handing ZCC their first loss in CWC history! ZCC won the toss and elected to bowl first at the swing-friendly conditions in the Treacle Mine Road. Bikswing Nouding used the early movement to nab two wickets in the Powerplay, Chung Yiu and Hashim Zahid kept the pressure up with a wicket each, and Nouding returned to complete his spell and picked up a 3rd wicket. After 14 overs Dynamo were 96/5 and struggling. Enter ZCC legend Gwong Fong and talented youngster Meno Fouche. The pair added 45 in just 26 balls, Gwong being dismissed for 47(26) in the 18th over. Meno kept going and was dismissed in the final over for 36 off just 18. The Dynamos had scored 65 in the final 6 overs, finishing on a challenging 161/7.
ZCC got off to a solid start - a 40 run opening partnership, and 42/1 after the powerplay. Shkorer looked good briefly but was bowled for 19 in the 10th over, leaving the visitors needing 86 from the final 10 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Alas, here's where the wobble set in. Fred Clarke's reverse swing bowled Heshan de Mehlo on a poorly executed shot, and offspinner Van Heerdens took 2 wickets in 2 balls the following over as both Zack Yattak (stumped) and Arif Jalal (bowled) missed balls they were trying to smash out of the park. 109/5 in 13 overs, and enter Gwong Long yet again. The old pro got his former teammate Hashim Zahid skewing a poor shot to the fielder at cover, and then bowled attacking youngster Ed Halliday around his legs to ensure ZCC sunk further. Shahbaz Furqan nicked Fred Clarke behind attempting to work him off his legs to end all hopes of a ZCC recovery - 8 down with 35 still needed in 19 balls. Giddings and Nouding brought that down to 20 off the last over, but that was always going to be a mountain too high. Saleem Saleem conceded just 4 runs and picked up a wicket as the Dynamos emerged victorious by 15 runs, giving ZCC their first loss after 16 consecutive CWC victories. Fantastic performance!
That result has now turned it into a 3-way battle for the Final, with Dynamo Morpork entering the mix. Schmaltzberg and Winton CC will be battling for 4th place, while the Honest Hunks will hope that the revived interest of their manager will mean that they can now enter this conversation as well.
This Saturday we are likely to see Dynamo Morpork climb into 2nd place on the table, potentially even 1st, with ZCC playing host to FHK in a top-of-the-table Darby! Both clubs have taken this opportunity to schedule a 3-format friendly series - a Dev friendly tomorrow, followed by a OD friendly on Sunday - with both non-CWC games being played at 5DNOL stadium. ZCC have already revealed that the wicket is likely to have plenty of pace and moisture, aiming to negate FHK's strength in the spin department. Should be an exciting few days ahead!
Dynamo Morpork will play bottom-ranked Picasso Moon, and should pick up a comfortable victory with a bonus point as well. It will be interesting to see if they experiment with some younger players - for sure securing the bonus point will be the priority.
Winton CC will look to get back to winning ways at home against the Inner Western Wombats, while the Honest Hunks will look to spring a surprise on Dynamo Schmaltzberg when they play host to them this Saturday. With a friendly against Moooo coming up tomorrow and a league game on Friday, it's possible we will see a sharper, fitter, better organized Hunks XI come Saturday. An exciting few days for HH fans.
Playing away from home on a slow and dry deck, lost the toss, had to field first, and the bowlers got carted. 153 run opening partnership, 195 to chase. Got off to a reasonable start, 65/0 in 8 overs, but then collapsed to 89/5 with the entire Top 5 dismissed and that was the game. Crawled to 132/7. We've slipped back into the relegation zone, 3 points behind 5th place. Sad. Actually had a slight ratings advantage too, but my bowling really was not fit for the conditions. I need my next gen of spin bowlers to get up to scratch quick!