chooka_nick
International 12th Man
New South Wales Win Classic Dogfight
It had all the makings of an instant classic; singular brilliance aplenty, grit and determination, fightbacks and turnarounds seemingly every ball.
Yorkshire’s Greg Belle won the toss and decided to have a bat, sensing that the ‘pitch won’t change much for the entire game’. Vice-captain Timothy Lyons told me that, in order to walk away the winners, Yorkshire would have to get a sizable total on the board.
‘Realistically, we’re aiming for about two-fifty. But it would give us just that much more of a buffer if we could pass three-hundred. The track looks like holding together perfectly, so in the end it could come down to who uses the pitch best.’
Veteran Paul Marsden accompanied Ben Foster to the crease, and although both fell without building full momentum Yorkshire’s number three, rookie wicketkeeper Patel, bounced along to his first-ever one-day century. Understanding that the dead pitch would offer nothing to bowlers, yet also wanting to hold his team together at 2/65, Patel cut, drove and pulled with uneasy precision. His 110 not out came from 133 balls, and was the innings Belle was hoping for more than anything. ‘He truly proved that he has that certain power in him to succeed at the highest level. He’s batting at number three because he has the ability to bat ANYWHERE… I chose the most important position just to test if his nerve could withstand the pressure being placed on him at the moment. He hasn’t yet me down yet!’
With Lyons striking a harsh 29 the stage was set at 3/106 for a real rush of runs. Adam Gonsalves, so far a one-day exclusive, lashed 79 not out from just 72 balls, showing that his recent participation in a Shropshire 20Twenty round-robin was not just for kicks. He impressively looked the whole product, especially to deliveries straying even a little onto his legs, although his weakness against the short ball is what’s holding him back from first-class cricket.
‘That and we don’t have enough room for him!’ laughs Belle.
Patel was applauded off the ground, and was very happy for his first OD hundred. ‘I think it will never happen again!’ he laughs, ‘so I’m just trying to make the most of it.’
Sadly, it was not to be.
New South Wales’ opening pair of Depeiaza and Fry used the first fifteen overs to their full effect. With the field pulled in due to restrictions, neither showed any problem with edging, hoicking or pulling Yassir Arafat or Sami to the boundary.
The introduction of Saeed and Belle (who else?) again put the stops on proceedings, with Belle in particular taking a liking to the New South Wales batsmen’s tendencies to drive in the air. Fry slogged straight up, the unlucky Crowhurst was stumped off a wrong-un and Fleming missed a standard break; Belle had taken 3/38 from ten, and with William Kitson and Saeed toiling away from the other end anything was possible.
However, Pierre decided to take the game into his own hands, and as Arafat was later head to lament, ‘closed his eyes and slogged’ 35 invaluable runs from 23 balls. Kitson eventually had him caught by Marsden, but by then the damage had been done.
‘What an innings,’ a weary Kitson remarked to me at the post-match drinks, ‘I tried a bit of everything on him, so I probably varied my line a bit too much. In the end it was a bolt-straight delivery that sent him packing… I should probably have stuck to the basics a bit too much. It was so hard: Pierre was slogging, whilst Stoddart just creamed everything. Stoddart was amazing. It was he who really made the match theirs!’
Kitson’s praise for Stoddart was richly deserved, as his 58 from 52 balls was truly inspirational. With the bowler’s heads dropping and Belle deciding to stick with his guns – Pete Marsden tried to talk him into breaking the tempo with something a little unorthodox – Stoddart wasn’t afraid to hit out against the pacemen. In the end the runs came off the final over, a stunning fightback by New South Wales leaving Yorkshire stunned.
‘I was hideous,’ Sami admits, whose 1/72 was below par for such an emerging quick. ‘If I get another shot I’m gonna make it up to them, I promise.’
Belle was only inclined to say that Yorkshire were already planning to make amends in their first-class game next week, and that ‘sudden, rash changes would not be tolerated. Every person has a role to play; it was a bad result, but you get them sometimes.’
Scorecard:
It had all the makings of an instant classic; singular brilliance aplenty, grit and determination, fightbacks and turnarounds seemingly every ball.
Yorkshire’s Greg Belle won the toss and decided to have a bat, sensing that the ‘pitch won’t change much for the entire game’. Vice-captain Timothy Lyons told me that, in order to walk away the winners, Yorkshire would have to get a sizable total on the board.
‘Realistically, we’re aiming for about two-fifty. But it would give us just that much more of a buffer if we could pass three-hundred. The track looks like holding together perfectly, so in the end it could come down to who uses the pitch best.’
Veteran Paul Marsden accompanied Ben Foster to the crease, and although both fell without building full momentum Yorkshire’s number three, rookie wicketkeeper Patel, bounced along to his first-ever one-day century. Understanding that the dead pitch would offer nothing to bowlers, yet also wanting to hold his team together at 2/65, Patel cut, drove and pulled with uneasy precision. His 110 not out came from 133 balls, and was the innings Belle was hoping for more than anything. ‘He truly proved that he has that certain power in him to succeed at the highest level. He’s batting at number three because he has the ability to bat ANYWHERE… I chose the most important position just to test if his nerve could withstand the pressure being placed on him at the moment. He hasn’t yet me down yet!’
With Lyons striking a harsh 29 the stage was set at 3/106 for a real rush of runs. Adam Gonsalves, so far a one-day exclusive, lashed 79 not out from just 72 balls, showing that his recent participation in a Shropshire 20Twenty round-robin was not just for kicks. He impressively looked the whole product, especially to deliveries straying even a little onto his legs, although his weakness against the short ball is what’s holding him back from first-class cricket.
‘That and we don’t have enough room for him!’ laughs Belle.
Patel was applauded off the ground, and was very happy for his first OD hundred. ‘I think it will never happen again!’ he laughs, ‘so I’m just trying to make the most of it.’
Sadly, it was not to be.
New South Wales’ opening pair of Depeiaza and Fry used the first fifteen overs to their full effect. With the field pulled in due to restrictions, neither showed any problem with edging, hoicking or pulling Yassir Arafat or Sami to the boundary.
The introduction of Saeed and Belle (who else?) again put the stops on proceedings, with Belle in particular taking a liking to the New South Wales batsmen’s tendencies to drive in the air. Fry slogged straight up, the unlucky Crowhurst was stumped off a wrong-un and Fleming missed a standard break; Belle had taken 3/38 from ten, and with William Kitson and Saeed toiling away from the other end anything was possible.
However, Pierre decided to take the game into his own hands, and as Arafat was later head to lament, ‘closed his eyes and slogged’ 35 invaluable runs from 23 balls. Kitson eventually had him caught by Marsden, but by then the damage had been done.
‘What an innings,’ a weary Kitson remarked to me at the post-match drinks, ‘I tried a bit of everything on him, so I probably varied my line a bit too much. In the end it was a bolt-straight delivery that sent him packing… I should probably have stuck to the basics a bit too much. It was so hard: Pierre was slogging, whilst Stoddart just creamed everything. Stoddart was amazing. It was he who really made the match theirs!’
Kitson’s praise for Stoddart was richly deserved, as his 58 from 52 balls was truly inspirational. With the bowler’s heads dropping and Belle deciding to stick with his guns – Pete Marsden tried to talk him into breaking the tempo with something a little unorthodox – Stoddart wasn’t afraid to hit out against the pacemen. In the end the runs came off the final over, a stunning fightback by New South Wales leaving Yorkshire stunned.
‘I was hideous,’ Sami admits, whose 1/72 was below par for such an emerging quick. ‘If I get another shot I’m gonna make it up to them, I promise.’
Belle was only inclined to say that Yorkshire were already planning to make amends in their first-class game next week, and that ‘sudden, rash changes would not be tolerated. Every person has a role to play; it was a bad result, but you get them sometimes.’
Scorecard:
Code:
Yorkshire versus New South Wales
Yorkshire
P Marsden b F Khan 15 (25)
B Foster c O Fry b F Khan 34 (43)
N Patel not out 110 (133)
T Lyon c C Smith b E Parris 29 (27)
A Gonsalves not out 79 (72)
Extras ( lb4 ) 4
Total (from 50 overs) 271 - 3
Fall of wickets:
1-30 2-65 3-106
Bowling Figures for New South Wales
O M R W
J Du Toit 10 2 36 0
D Sen 10 1 61 0
F Khan 10 2 56 2
E Parris 10 1 45 1
J Pierre 10 0 69 0
New South Wales
A Depeiaza c A Gonsalves b Z Saeed 44 (45)
O Fry c K Davies b G Belle 42 (57)
C Smith run out 18 (25)
F Khan run out 16 (25)
S Fleming b G Belle 0 (2)
S Crowhurst stA Gonsalves b G Belle 49 (64)
K Stoddart not out 58 (52)
J Pierre c P Marsden b W Kitson 35 (23)
D Sen c K Davies b K Sami 0 (3)
J Du Toit not out 3 (3)
Extras ( w1 lb6 ) 7
Total (from 50 overs) 272 - 8
Fall of wickets:
1-73 2-107 3-107 4-107 5-151 6-198 7-261 8-269
Bowling Figures for Yorkshire
O M R W
Y Arafat 10 2 61 0
K Sami 9 0 72 1
Z Saeed 10 0 47 1
G Belle 10 3 38 3
W Kitson 10 3 48 1
New South Wales won by 2 wickets
Man of the match is A Gonsalves
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