Wednesday 5th February
CW Blue v CW Black
at the SCG
Another disappointing showing from CW Blue, as the weak batting and terribly unpenetrative bowling was exposed once more. Neither Cloete nor Camps made any real impact on the game and Black ran away with it.
Pickup took 4 first innings wickets, then Wilson took 4 in the second innings to limit the Blues to a combined 385 runs. At the crease, the critical player was maiden hundred scorer - Blackman. Blackman played beautifully in between being dropped on 21 and 61 to reach the milestone. Overall the Blues were terrible in the field, Jellett flooring Loc 2nd ball, who then went on to a half-century.
Butler was also dropped twice in the 40s and continued onward to a half-century. It was not all doom and gloom for Blue though. Travis Demeza justified his place in the team with a persistent exhibition of pace bowling to take a maiden 6-wicket haul.
Cricket Web Blue 1st Innings 217 all out
Cricket Web Black 1st Innings 360 all out
Cricket Web Blue 2nd Innings 168 all out
Cricket Web Black 2nd Innings 28 for 1
Cricket Web Black won by 9 wkts.
Man of the Match: A Blackman
CW Red v CW Green
at the CWBCC Stadium
Despite a brave second inning effort that saw the game being taken to the final session, the Reds' inability to cope with the supreme rhythm of Timewell in the first innings ultimately accounted for a massive defeat. Timewell took 7 wickets to limit Red to 136, collapsing from 124/4.
The Greens had earlier in the game won the toss and batted first on the notorious Jekyll-Hyde CWBCC Stadium wicket. The brilliance of Brendon Goff at the top of the order was a huge boost, with Alex Feeney also playing well for a solid half-century. Red then fought back behind the spin of Bennett to limit the score from 164/1 to 243 all out.
In their second innings, Green had a lead of 107 runs and set about to bat Red out of the game. The pitch seemingly flattened out, showing its best for the spinners, who shared 57 overs of work. Rose, Goff and Malone played well at the top of the order, but the real frustration for Red came with Verghese's determined innings with the tail. The infamous depth of the Green order showed up again, with even Timewell scoring runs on the way to 417 all out.
Red was faced with one option - close up shop. With an unattainable target and a turning 5th day pitch, Håkon Mørk set out to bat an eternity alongside Iyer and the two very nearly took Red to stumps. Alas a breakthrough before the close gave way for 2 more in the first session of the final day. Red went to lunch at 155/3 with aspirations of saving the game.
It was not to be, however. The spinners took timely wickets including that of Mørk for a well-compiled half-century, and captain Marc Robbins was left batting with the tail. He tried his utmost to shield his partners, but aside from David Kennett, no one looked like sticking around with him. Timewell returned and wrapped up a 10-wicket game with the last 2 wickets.
Cricket Web Green 1st Innings 243 all out
Cricket Web Red 1st Innings 136 all out
Cricket Web Green 2nd Innings 417 all out
Cricket Web Red 2nd Innings 203 all out
Cricket Web Green won by 321 runs.
Man of the Match: R Timewell
But I have to say that in OD, Mike Wilson averages 43.50 with the bat and 19.33 with the ball - but having said that, the huge amount of rookies that came in this season means I'm not surprised that one player has turned out to be a prodigy - that's almost to be expected.
