A fantastic first Div IV win for The Cymru Gurgitaters today, to settle the jangling relegation nerves. High Tops had Prof top order in their last league match, so I set Edworthy and Bewers, (on paper at least my best bowlers), to normal aggression, and bowled them out first up, in hope that I could bung up the scoring long enough for their three strong batsmen to run out of Stam. And it worked a treat, we fluked a wicket in the first over, and from then on their RR never made it above four, as they subsided from 125/3 in 35 to 158 A/O in 46. Edworthy 3/22 (10), Burke 3/23 (9), Bewers 0/38 (10), Crick 2/36 (9), Mullins 2/18 (8.2). Mullins' bowling continues to astound me, he's only supposed to be a Feeb bowl, but for the second week in a row he did for a Strong batsman, and continues to serve up these kinds of figures. Goes to show how important his Resp Cons must be?
Put it to bed in 31.2, Wynne-Willson top scoring with exactly 50* (72). Though in truth I was a little bit disappointed with the batting, we were chugging along on 90-odd after fifteen, and somehow managed to take another 16.2 to knock off the remaining 60 or so. Plus Staveley 34 (37), Oli 19 (33) and Dunfield 22 (31) all got decent starts and couldn't kick on - The first time Staveley and Dunfield have failed to post 50s this season!
But on the plus side, I sold out my expanded 10500 seater stadium at the first time of asking! Not sure how much that'll bring in, but hoping it'll be a tidy bit.
Reporter's Summary
*
Cymru Gurgitaters
High Tops
Top Order:
competent
respectable
Middle Order:
mediocre
woeful
Lower Order:
abysmal
woeful
Seam Bowling:
mediocre
competent
Spin Bowling:
useless
mediocre
Fielding:
feeble
mediocre
YP time tomorrow - Given the new rules about youngsters taking longer to improve in Conc and Cons, I've decided I am definitely going to gamble on 12 ITS each on Bowling, Cons and Stam. I know I won't necessarily get a V good bowler, but if I go on 12 each on Bat, Bowl and Stam then I'm going to have a player who's going to take frigging ages to be any use to my starting XI.
Plus, does anyone know if you get a player with more natural ability if you go for one older than 17? I know obviously you won't have as long to train them up, but I really don't have room in my nets at the mo, so if they were better to start with I might go for that option.
Finally - And I'm fully aware that this might sound a stupid question - But if you have a player who's better on paper, but isn't delivering the goods, do you go with them, or a supposedly lesser player who's performing above his natural ability for some reason. I ask because Oli, (COMP Bat, Resp Stam, Woe Conc), is having a shocker at the top of the order this year, whereas Wynne-Willson, (Comp Bat, Feeb Stam, Abs Conc) is doing quite nicely at No4. When Haldane pops to Resp, I was going to replace Wynne-Willson with him, as he's statistically my worst batsman, but I'm thinking that perhaps it's a bit silly to work on figures, and I should just back the people who are delivering the goods at the current time?
Later, Trev.