Cricket Web Green v Cricket Web Black
at CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Commentary
Green showed they're a force to be reckoned with after whittling Black out for 106 on their own turf, though they nearly stuffed it up and only a fine spell from former international Xavier Rose saved them from the Black comeback in a game dominated by bowlers.
Green batted first, but their top order struggled to get going against the incisive bowling changes, and they slipped to 113 for six with only Rodgie holding his own. When he was lbw to Richards, things looked grim, but Cunningham and Rose battered the Black bowling to add 78 swift runs for the seventh wicket, and despite a collapse against Richards after tea Green totalled a steady 205.
Then Black collapsed in amazing fashion. The side whose batting points this season rivals that amassed by the other four was cruelly exposed, mainly due to overconfidence and expansive shotmaking. Stedman sliced to Gundry in the gully, Smith smashed an outside edge and was caught by Lezama, Fitzsimmons padded up to a Mitchell slower ball, and Law and Blackman played silly shots. The tail, for once, failed to provide the important runs when given a poor platform, and Black were bowled out for a meagre 106, trailing by 99.
They rallied well, though Green handed them the chance. Nine catches were given away in their innings, with only Lezama showing some level head as he carried his bat to 49. The others smashed out in single figures, excluding Rodgie, who raced to 21 before he, too, hoiked to Thompson. Richards was the best bowler, sticking to line and length throughout, but was only rewarded with the one wicket as Green left a competitive target of 234.
The chase was always close, but ultimately fine bowling from Green carried them home. Rose was threatening throughout, producing a chance in the first over, and carried on from there to get figures of five for 57. In a close chase, this was crucial. Daniel Smith provided a very good innings of 50, but eventually inside edged Cameron, and no one else managed to contribute with the required grit. Not even Thompson's usual bash of 44 unbeaten runs could help them get across, as Borcich hoiked Rose to Mitchell to get out for a seven-ball duck and give Green the win by 29 runs.
Cricket Web Green 205 all out (Rose 51; Richards 4/39, Warwick 4/57)
Cricket Web Black 106 all out (Mitchell 3/26, Rose 3/28, Cunningham 2/21, Cameron 2/30)
Cricket Web Green 134 all out (Lezama 49*; Borcich 4/47, Warwick 3/46, Wilson 2/22)
Cricket Web Black 204 all out (Smith 50; Rose 5/57, Cameron 2/46)
Cricket Web Green won by 29 runs
Points: Green 18, Black 3
Man of the Match: X. P. A. Rose
Cricket Web Colts v Cricket Web Blue
at Fardin Qayyumi CC
Scorecard
Commentary
A match devoid of the greatest stars turned into a grade-level game, as none of the batsmen really showed the application required for a five-day game of first class cricket. Fans only got to watch a couple of days, and most of what they got was a procession of tail-enders, as Colts won by an innings and 33 runs.
Blue chose to bat first, backing their top five to make runs against the opening bowlers, and it did work to an extent. At 79 for one, they were looking rather comfortable, but Thomas got the key breakthrough - and everything fell apart from there. Matt Smith escaped with credit, bashing 24 before he cut Rai to Thomas at point, and Hancock cleaned up the remaining batsmen for 142.
Colts shall receive credit for some good batting, especially against Demeza, who always looked threatening. The change bowlers didn't do much - Smith, Dunn, Currie and Gooljar contributed 23 wicketless overs for 127 runs - but the batting shown by Pitt and Jasotharan would have held its own against most attacks, and Hancock and Weber, who added 47 valuable runs for the seventh wicket, also got hearty applauses from the home crowd.
When Blue batted, they slid to three for two when Cloete smashed Wright to midwicket first ball - they never recovered. On-loan batsman Darren Dubb-Lynch eked out 33 to lead Blue to 97 for four, but despite Gooljar blocking one end to record 20 not out, the visitors crashed to a feeble 107 to lose by an innings.
Cricket Web Blue 142 all out (Hancock 4/25, Weber 2/24, Wright 2/39)
Cricket Web Colts 282 all out (Pitt 67, Jasotharan 65; Collins 4/44, Demeza 4/77)
Cricket Web Blue 107 all out (Thomas 6/29, Wright 3/33)
Cricket Web Colts won by an innings and 33 runs
Points: Colts 19, Blue 3
Man of the Match: M. J. Pitt
Tomorrow's
one-day fixtures: Blue v Green in PDV Dome, Red v Black in CW Oval