Saturday 2nd February
Masters XI v Cricket Web Blue
Casston Reserve
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Gareth Gooljar produced a very special spell of legspin to derail the Masters XI after they had batted themselves into a good position in the fourth innings of a thrilling match. The first of his 4 wickets was Dale Benkenstein, caught at short leg for 49 when the score was 177-4 in the chase of 343 for victory. The following ball Lance Klusener smacked a low full toss to Manan Shah at mid-on and he held on to a stunning catch. All around the ground, the predominantly Blue support rose in a huge cheer.
Adam Collins took an even better catch to remove Geraint Jones (2), moving low to his left. Less than 3 overs later Collins fetched Brian Lara's outside edge and the Masters XI captain walked back to the pavilion disappointed and out for 96. His swashbuckling innings started with 2 sixes within 3 balls faced against his opposite number, Demeza, and he looked hellbent on guiding a victorious charge. Upon his departure, the innings crumbled, confirming a collapse of 6 wickets for 19, as the Masters XI were all out for 196. The spectacular CW Blue comeback was met with grand celebration led by captain Travis Demeza, lifting the enormous Gooljar onto his shoulders.
For the entire match the intitiative was passed between the two teams. CW Blue batted first and slipped to 73-3, but Pete Young continued his good form, supported by Sean Fuller in a large fourth wicket stand. Young was dropped three times before lunch and twice after, but played beautifully for another first-class ton. He was eventually out caught at deep midwicket for 115, ending the 159-run partnership. And Boyd Rankin brought a exciting close to the day, armed with the new ball, removing Fuller for 83 and then Bowen in his next over. The following day was, for the most part, an exhibition of patience and determination, spearheaded by Gooljar. The legspinner batted for 95 balls and hit 6 fours in his innings of 30, while Collins and Shah combined for 88 deliveries at his side. CW Blue were all out for 349 in the first hour after lunch, and Rankin finished with 5 wickets.
The response from the home team was equally determined, and the Masters XI reached 159-2 at stumps. The fearless Shah, having accounted for Lara the night before, burst through Ed Smith's defence and bowled him for 87 in the fourth over of day two. He then enticed Martyn (12) to drive and edge to slip, and Collins complemented his attack with the wicket of Benkenstein for 3. The Masters XI lost 3 wickets for 14 runs, but Klusener anchored a counterattack that ultimately lifted the score to 333 and a deficit of only 16 runs.
CW Blue returned to the crease hoping to press on with their slim advantage, but lost both openers to the pacey attack of Rankin. Vice-captain Robert Cribb offered a calm 39 in his favourite back-to-the-wall circumstances, but it was the batting of Stephen Young that most impressed. The rookie batsman scored a solid 53, but was last out in a collapse to 135-5. CW Blue lead by only 151 runs when Bowen came to the crease with mounting pressure. In the first innings he hit two fours in a 6-ball innings of 11, then flashed at Rankin and was caught behind. With his second attempt he did much better and reached 75 with some stunning strokes before he was bowled by Klusener. Camps also contributed 52, and again the tail played a huge role in CW Blue moving into command. For the second in the match Gooljar crossed into the 30s, and with him for a lot of his 150-ball stay was his captain, who lasted an amazing 51 balls without scoring.
The Masters XI set off with 87 overs to chase 343. And after struggling at 69-4, they surged into contention largely due to the batting of Lara. He stamped his authority from the moment he came to the crease, but when he was dropped by Demeza on 69, many feared the worst. The Masters added a further 41 runs from that point, tipping the game slightly in their favour until Gooljar stepped in heroically.
Cricket Web Blue 1st innings 349
PE Young 115, SE Fuller 83, GS Gooljar 30
WB Rankin 5-80, SK Warne 3-91
Masters XI 1st innings 333
ET Smith 87, L Klusener 68, BC Lara 39
M Shah 4-76, SE Fuller 2-42
Cricket Web Blue 2nd innings 326
RF Bowen 75, S Young 53, LA Camps 52
L Klusener 4-49, WB Rankin 4-75
Masters XI 2nd innings 196
BC Lara 96, DM Benkenstein 49
GS Gooljar 4-33, AAA Collins 3-34
Cricket Web Blue won by 146 runs.
Man of the Match: GS Gooljar (Blue)
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Cricket Web Green v Cricket Web Colts
CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Much like the drama in Casston, the battle between Cricket Web Green and Cricket Web Colts was intense and came to a thrilling conclusion, despite the clear margin of victory - 73 runs - for the Colts. Chasing 247 the requirement was reduced to 74 by Andrew Garven and Bryce Cunningham, but the Colts key bowlers were outstanding on the fifth morning, starting the day with the final four wickets for no runs, hastening the end within 3 overs.
Garven received a fast delivery from Thomas on an offstump line and could only edge it to second slip where Towns waited gleefully to accept it. Thomas collected the wickets of Halsey and Rose without scoring, and Cunningham miscued his slog to be caught for 38. The Greens were stunned and the Colts joyous, having returned from a first innings deficit of 77 runs to claim victory by roughly the same margin.
In the first innings all of the top nine Colts reached double figures, though none could surpass the contribution of 44 by Dan Rai. As against CW Black, Martyn Corrin took 4 wickets and unsettled the middle order. CW Colts fought hard, but could were all out for 260 after the last 4 wickets fell for 19 runs. In response CW Green posted 337 all out. Half-centuries from Rob Malone jr. (61) and Bryce Cunningham (65) were the key contributions, though CW Green could have scored a much larger total from their platform of 159-2. Nick Hancock was the unsettling factor with the ball, taking 3 wickets at key moments in support of a 5-wicket haul by Mike Wilson.
The second time around CW Colts lost 3 wickets before they had even halved the deficit. But CW Green could not force home their clear advantage. Instead Shan Jasotharan unsettled their bowlers by scoring 62 off 49 balls, and Chris Butler held the innings together with 72. Their partnership was no more significant, however, than that of Nick Hancock and Tarick Weber, who posted 73 for the eighth wicket. The score crossed 300 and the lead advanced to 246 at the end of the innings. CW Green then set out to score 247 the better part of two days left in the game.
Under cloudy skies Wright and Thomas chipped away at the top order to reduce the innings to a dismal 73-6. But just as the Greens had done with their turn in the field, the Colts struggled to hold momentum in their court. Instead Garven and Cunningham launched into attack and piled on a quickfire 100 runs. At day four stumps they were applauded off the field, hoping to resume on the final day needing 74. But such reasonable ambitions were traded for humiliation by the most stunning of Colts efforts.
Cricket Web Colts 1st innings 260
DK Rai 44, MW Wilson 42, CR Butler 36
M Corrin 4-61, BC Cunningham 2-40, XPA Rose 2-50
Cricket Web Green 1st innings 337
BC Cunningham 65, R Malone 61, DY Dubb-Lynch 45, NG Scott 41
MW Wilson 5-67, NR Hancock 3-35
Cricket Web Colts 2nd innings 323
CR Butler 72, S Jasotharan 62, NR Hancock 43*
TC Halsey 4-74, XPA Rose 3-88
Cricket Web Green 2nd innings 173
AJ Garven 61, BC Cunningham 38, A Lezama 23
GM Thomas 5-36, KS Wright 4-39
Cricket Web Colts won by 73 runs.
Man of the Match: NR Hancock (Colts)
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Cricket Web Red v Cricket Web Black
CW Oval
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
The Cricket Web Black top order battered their opponents, but Cricket Web Red showed great courage in hanging on for a draw with 2 wickets intact. It brought to an end a streak of eight CW Black victories, and was a much-needed boost for a struggling CW Red batting lineup.
Aseem Sharma was dropped three times between the wicketkeeper and the slip cordon, but he continued to play his natural game and scored 168 off 220 balls. His masterful second first-class hundred set up an impressive rearguard by CW Red, until the middle order collapse complicated the situation. From 271-2, and starting with Sharma out for 168, the Reds slumped to 339-8. The match-fixing scandal surrounding Raghav seemed a distant thought when he buckled down for 62-balls and partnered with 57-ball David Kennett to secure a draw. The unbroken ninth wicket partnership saw out the 77 minutes of the match.
Prior the final innings drama, the game followed the typical CW Black formula of success. They batted first and relied on one key hundred to reach 326. This time it was the belated contribution of Andrew Cloete, who hit 19 fours in his 138. The Reds bowled impressively, led by the revitalized Dave Watt, and the four key bowlers shared the 10 wickets. In their response CW Red scored 293, recovering from the troubles of 120-5. What seemed the same old story for the Reds was transformed by Gaurav Nayak's stunning and chanceless 80 off 116 balls. He received terrific support from Raghav, who stayed for 113 balls at the crease. The lead bowler for CW Black was Dave Richards, who took 6 for 50.
CW Black led by a slim 33 on first innings, but proceeded with their accustomed rise to dominance. Of the eight bowlers used by CW Red, only two were wicket-takers, and each managed only one. Dan Smith and Ashley Arnold combined for 321 runs and nearly took the game out of Red hands on their own. Unlike his triple hundred earlier this season, Arnold gave only one difficult chance and cruised to 176. After his departure Cloete continued the script with his second ton of the match. All the while Dan Smith moved comfortably to his 7th career hundred. A chance went down when he had 159, and he took his cue to pass his highest score and bring up a maiden double hundred. Also on cue he was out to the next ball he faced.
As he walked off the field to a standing ovation, he called Cloete to accompany him and the innings was declared closed on 540-2. So CW Red set out to survive 121 overs in the shadow of a target of 574. They went to the close on 74-1, the only loss that of Mork for 12. Sharma continued bravely on day five by pulling Borcich in the first over and celebrating a half-century. He lost Dauth to a skied hook shot but found a willing partner in Jamee Gray. The partnership of 172 for the third wicket changed the complexion of the game, and suddenly it was less of a task of survival for CW Red and more of a chase of wickets for CW Black. Those wickets came in a flurry after Patrick bowled Gray for 58, but the resilience of the tail revealed a depth of batting that handed the Blacks a dose of their own medicine.
Cricket Web Black 1st innings 326
AP Cloete 138, AP Chaulk 33, DP Smith 31
DJ Watt 4-67, SV Raghav 2-55
Cricket Web Red 1st innings 293
GN Nayak 80, H Mork 53, CP Thompson/CR Dwyer 31
DP Richards 6-50, NL Patrick 2-69
Cricket Web Black 2nd innings 540-2 dec.
DP Smith 200, AR Arnold 176, AP Cloete 134*
CP Thompson 1-73
Cricket Web Red 2nd innings 357-8
AS Sharma 168, JR Gray 58, CR Dwyer 25
NS Pickup 2-70
Match drawn.
Man of the Match: AP Cloete (Black)
