Sunday 10th February
Masters XI v Cricket Web Black
Casston Reserve
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Outside of a fine individual effort from Andrew Cloete, Cricket Web Black lacked the firepower to rebound from a difficult start to their game against the Masters XI. The Blacks were bowled out for 210 on the opening day, and though they fought back strongly, they slumped to defeat by 6 wickets.
James Stedman, the hero of a week ago, was moved one spot down the order and never got any momentum, out for 2 and 21 in the game. But for a while on day one Ash Arnold (37) and Cloete (84) played positively and threatened to build a big total. But from the heights of 84-1, CW Black plummeted to 210 all out. Boyd Rankin bowled admirably with the old ball and took 4-51 in an innings that saw a third best score of 18, by Blake Donald. The response of the Masters was authoritative for the most part. The Blacks would have anticipated a contest when they had their opponents wobbling on 79-3, but Damien Martyn came to the rescue again, scoring 96 before he was caught at slip off Borcich.
With him were Inzamam-ul-Haq (41) and Dale Benkenstein (95), both of whom played positively in support. After the Blacks broke a fifth wicket stand of 165, Kev Gough showed potency with the new ball by removing Lance Klusener and Heath Streak without scoring. The final score of 355 represented a lead of 145 for the Masters XI. The approach to the second innings was aggressive initially, with Arnold attacking the bowling mercilessly through his 31-ball cameo of 34. It was with a reckless swipe that he was caught at first slip. His opening partner Stedman proceeded to struggle for 81 balls to score 21 runs, then pushed a simple catch back to Rankin.
Again Cloete looked the most comfortable batsman at the park, hitting 11 fours and a six in his innings. He was not without support, adding 49 with Dan Smith (21) and 62 with Gerard Armstrong (56). And at 202-3 the game was alive again and Cloete needed a single for another hundred. Instead he received a well-landed legcutter and nicked through to Lara for 99. Ash Chaulk smacked a six straight down the ground, but that was the extent of his threat - caught for 9. It looked that the Masters XI would again romp through the lower half of the innings, but Donald stood up alongside Armstrong with a handy 50. His was the only effective fight of the lower order, however, and CW Black were all out for 338.
The Masters set out to chase 194 in their final innings, and lost makeshift opener Geraint Jones (6) in the third over. As Chaulk floored a sitter off Lara when he had 12, the signs were ominous. But Borcich took only 2 balls after lunch to right that wrong, bowling the left-hander for 22. Chaulk then dropped a much more difficult chance off Ed Smith, who went on to add 27 runs and finish unbeaten on 61. The over after the miss, Pickup beat Martyn's sweep shot and bowled him for 19. Inzamam came to the middle with the Masters XI requiring 105 for a famous win.
True to form the former Pakistan captain eased to a half-century in support of anchorman Smith, then handed the duties over to Benkenstein to seal the game. Benkenstein lashed 3 boundaries in the first 5 balls he saw from Borcich and Smith pushed the first ball after tea down the ground for the winning runs.
Cricket Web Black 1st Innings 210 all out
Cloete 84, Arnold 37, Rankin 4-51, Henderson 2-42
Masters XI 1st Innings 355 all out
Martyn 96, Benkenstein 95, Donald 3-54, Borcich 2-72
Cricket Web Black 2nd Innings 338 all out
Cloete 99, Armstrong 56, Rankin 5-106, Henderson 2-68
Masters XI 2nd Innings 195 for 4
Smith 61*, Inzamam-ul-Haq 60, Borcich 3-62, Pickup 1-34
Masters XI won by 6 wickets.
Man of the Match: WB Rankin (Masters)
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Cricket Web Blue v Cricket Web Colts
PDV Dome
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
An unusually flat pitch at the PDV Dome provided another opportunity for Cricket Web Blue to bat solidly to a draw. Both the Blues and the Colts applied themselves admirably, but the pitch played well enough that only 27 wickets fell over the five days.
The Colts took first strike in perfect conditions, then proceeded to lose Dan Rai (4) and Daniel Towns (2) within the first hour. Any potential crisis was then arrested by the some solid batting throughout the remainder of the lineup. The two early losses were the only single digit scores in the innings, though Will Kerr was the best scorer with 81. He was joined by two other half-centurions - Mike Wilson (56) and Tarick Weber (58) - and a handy knock of 46 from Nick Hancock. The Colts scored 398 and started confidently with the ball, claiming two early wickets of their own.
Pete Young (49) united with Dinu DeSilva (53) to rebuild with care but both fell amidst a collapse to 141-5. For the third time in as many career innings, Luke Tyson entered with his team in distress. And for the third time he stood up soundly. Guided by the experienced and aggressive Thamba Mamesh, he played himself in on his way to a maiden first-class ton. The sixth wicket partnership represented one of the best rearguards in Dev League history, posting 183. Mamesh offered two easy chances before he had crossed 35, then moved seamlessly to an even 100. He was finally caught, to the mild celebrations of bowler Wilson, and gave way to Gareth Gooljar for a trademark defensive effort.
The legspinner defended bravely and frustrated the Colts bowlers through a 71-ball innings. He celebrated with Tyson, who hit 3 boundaries in a Thomas over to get to his century, but did not stick around long enough to see him to 150. It was Collins at the other end when Tyson reached his third milestone with a single, and he was 8th out for 155. CW Blue took a slim 46-run lead with 444 all out and CW Colts started their second innings with five sessions remaining in the game.
The second time was the charm for the visitors, who posted 332-4 before Wright declared the innings closed. The exuberance of Griffen paid off to the tune of another hundred - 111 - and Daniel Towns finally cashed in on a hard-fought start by progressing to 116 not out. Also cashing in was Kerr, who registered another Husseylike not out, going in on 56. The Blues were left with 61 overs to survive or chase a target of 287. Any thoughts they would have had of victory were quickly altered when Pete Young was well-caught by Weber in the gully when had scored just 6. Stephen Young flicked a delivery from Wilson to midwicket, and he was out for 19 at 42-2. Thoughts then decisively switched to defence, and Fuller made the best of his chances to end unbeaten on 59. Dinu DeSilva played a promising innings of 36 from 48 balls, then gave way to Liam Camps, who batted solidly to stumps with 40 to his name.
Cricket Web Colts 1st Innings 398 all out
Kerr 81, Wilson 59, Collins 4-63, Sriram 2-68
Cricket Web Blue 1st Innings 444 all out
Tyson 155, Mamesh 100, Weber 4-88, Wright 4-121
Cricket Web Colts 2nd Innings 332 for 4 dec.
Towns 116*, Griffen 111, Demeza 3-113, Gooljar 1-35
Cricket Web Blue 2nd Innings 169 for 3
Fuller 59*, Camps 40*, Wilson 1-23, Wright 1-54
Match drawn.
Man of the Match: L Tyson (Blue)
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Cricket Web Red v Cricket Web Green
CW Oval
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Cricket Web Green achieved the rare feat of two double centurions in the same innings, as well as featured the most unlikely double centurion to date in the Dev League - Martyn Corrin. Corrin and Garven owned the headlines for almost two days, but by match end the efforts being hailed were those of Kingsley Clapham and David Kennett... with the bat.
Cricket Web Red batted 112 overs to secure a draw, an unlikely result after they were 45-5 on the fifth day. The first signs of fight were shown by David Kearsley, who played as well as he has all season in scoring 89. But when he lost his offstump to a Xavier Rose jaffa, the Reds slumped to 169-8 and 39 overs remained in the game. Clapham had then faced 27 balls and scored 12 runs, and he was joined by Kennett in a truly historic effort. With a firm push to the on-side, and having faced 84 balls, Clapham scampered through for his 50th run. His celebrations were minimal, knowing the task at hand, and he batted a further 27 balls before he was bowled by Halsey.
Perhaps crucially in the end, Clapham was dropped twice after his fifty. More crucial, however, were the chances missed against Kennett. The big fast bowler was dropped by Dubb-Lynch 67 balls into a 141-ball innings, and should have been run out by Scott 11 balls later. The Reds were 9 wickets down and 27 runs in the lead when the game was called to a close.
The opening exchanges of the game were even enough, with CW Green on 99-3 when Scott was out for 42. But the balance shifted overwhelmingly toward the Greens when Corrin and Garven got into flowing rhythm. By the time Garven was caught behind for 201, the fourth wicket was worth 363 runs. Thompson celebrated with relief, but was genuinely excited when he bowled Chris Raftery two balls later. It was false hope, evidenced by the solidity with which Dubb-Lynch acquitted himself. He eased to 49 and handed the strike to Corrin, who clipped the ball behind square for his 200th run.
Corrin dropped to his knees and kissed the turf with tears in his eyes. Soon after he celebrated with Dubb-Lynch (87) who reached 50. CW Green batted briefly on the morning of the third day, giving Corrin a small avenue to shoot to 300. He could not get the ball away as well as he had previously, and managed only to score 251 when Garven ended the innings. The pressure was on the Reds to bat for almost three days, but they handled it with the knowledge that the pitch remained in unthreatening.
For the first time this season Rob Dauth scored a hundred in the first innings, and his contribution with his captain, Mork, was again the most outstanding. Dauth scored 155 and Mork 75, but despite starts throughout the innings, the ninth wicket fell at 366, with CW Red still 95 short of the follow-on target. The last stand between Clapham (35) and Watt (30 not out) still came close to avoiding the follow-on, but late on day four CW Red were asked to bat again. At stumps, following a keen burst by Cunningham, the score was 29-2.
On the fifth day the Greens continued to dominate through the morning session. At lunch CW Red stood in tatters at 108-6, and the onus fell on Kearsley, unbeaten on 45. He batted bravely until shortly before tea, the handed over the charge to the brilliance of the tail.
Cricket Web Green 1st Innings 660 for 6 dec.
Corrin 251*, Garven 201, Thompson 4-137, Watt 1-129
Cricket Web Red 1st Innings 440 all out
Dauth 155, Mørk 75, Corrin 2-57, Cunningham 2-68
Cricket Web Red 2nd Innings Following On 247 for 9
Kearsley 89, Clapham 58, Cunningham 4-49, Halsey 3-67
Match drawn.
Man of the Match: M Corrin (Green)