Cricket Web Red vs Cricket Web Green
AND
Cricket Web Black vs Cricket Web Colts
at the CWBCC Stadium
AND
the Fardin Qayyumi CC
Episode I: The first innings
The situation was clear entering the final round of OD games of the season. Both Cricket Web Red and Cricket Web Black in need of victory and needing to do so away from home. A win for Black would eliminate Red from the OD final, and a win for Red would eliminate Black, pending defeat of the latter. With such importance attached to each result, the games began at the same time with each team viewing the other via live broadcast in the dressing rooms.
Whilst Dave Watt lost the toss at the CWBCC Stadium, Neil Pickup called correctly. The Greens batted first and the Blacks chose to do the same, with either side looking to assert some dominance on the two flattest pitches in the country.
A mixture of tentativeness and aggression from the Green openers marked a sharp start to the innings at 64-0. It was then that Clapham impacted with the wicket of Garven, via a brilliant low catch at first slip. But Kennett surrendered the momentum and 10 runs with his next over, calling Marc Robbins into action with the ball, as his replacement.
Robbins bowled with immediate impact, striking twice in his first over and again in his third. In the space of 14 balls CW Green had lost 3 wickets to the medium pace of Robbins, with stunning figures of 2-0-4-3. The score was 85-4 in the 19th over.
Across on the west coast of CWLand the battle was similarly intriguing, if without the fall of wickets. Ash Chaulk and James Stedman set about to dominate the Colts and take their trophy fate into their own hands. Chaulk smashed Comley back overhead for a boundary and raised his half-century off 54 balls. Six overs later, Stedman brought up his milestone off the same bowler, taking 63 balls to get there. The two then increased the level of attacking play against Comley, whilst attempting to do so against the clever variations of Dan Rai.
It was until the 30th over that the Colts finally broke through, and it was Chaulk who perished to a quicker ball from Rai - lbw for 81. The score stood at 175-1 at the end of the over.
At the same time CW Green had lost a fourth wicket to Robbins - that of Nitin Dravid - and reached the 28th over with the score 144-5. The clear intention of Rob Malone was to counterattack, and he did so to startling effect, even against leading bowler Robbins. The opener scored 20 runs off 13 balls faced from the bowler in a stretch. It seemed that whatever score CW Green would get would rely heavily on the efforts of Malone, while the Red fielders looked thirsty to press home their advantage.
But Dubb-Lynch was a worthy partner for Malone and ushered him to his hundred in the process of compiling 40. The two batted on brilliantly, but both fell in the same over, ironically, but not unexpectedly, to Marc Robbins. They were the 5th and 6th scalps for Robbins - a superb achievement. But after 41 overs, the Greens were much better placed at 220-7.
At the same time CW Black were batting into the 44th over and Law flicked Wright beautifully to the midwicket fence for four. The score of 243-5 was a significant collapse from the earlier strength, including the wicket of Stedman for an even hundred. Ironically it was Tarick Weber who caused the slide. Having entered the match as a specialist batsman, he was called on to bowl after the failures Comley and Gelman to keep things tight.
Weber went on to dismiss Stedman, Butler, Blackman and Law in a fantastic spell of spin bowling. CW Black were made to settle for 270-6, having scored just 45 runs from their final 11 overs. Weber's figures of 4-41 stood out, especially given that only Rai took a wicket otherwise.
At the Stadium, CW Green failed to bat out their 50 overs, but still seemed content with a score of 251, given the earlier state of 111-5. Robbins' figures of 6 for 50 stood out, though Clapham was brilliant in bowling a tight line with good variation.
At the CWBCC Stadium...
Cricket Web Green 251 all out (47.1 overs)
RJ Malone 113, DY Dubb-Lynch 40; MJ Robbins 6-50
At the Fardin Qayyumi CC
Cricket Web Black 270-6 (50 overs)
JE Stedman 100, AP Chaulk 81; TV Weber 4-41, DK Rai 2-47