Saturday 1st March
Cricket Web Green v Cricket Web Blue
CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Charging himself with the last over of the match, Dinu DeSilva stepped to the bowling crease for the biggest challenge of his career. Throughout the innings his part-time medium pace worked to good effect on a sluggish pitch, but he needed to defend 6 runs with 1 wicket left to take. Some hurried running denied him a moment in the limelight, and Dubb-Lynch and McNamara scampered through for the winning single off the final ball.
CW Blue were asked to bat first after losing the toss, lead by DeSilva despite vice-captain Rob Cribb playing the game. They were off to a steady start against disciplined seam bowling, and only broke loose when Andy Cameron entered the attack. After bowling a maiden first up, Cameron was thumped by Mamesh and DeSilva for 16 runs in his second over. Mamesh looked to be accelerating toward another one-day half-century, but gave his hand away for 47, skying a towering chance to Josh Forner in the deep.
Pete Young joined his captain and they set about building a partnership of 78 for the third wicket. But just as the Blues looked to be strengthening their position, Dubb-Lynch pulled off a spectacular stumping to remove DeSilva for 38. The Green pacers then combined exceptionally to revive their fortunes and collapse CW Blue to 213-8. The tail end could manage little more than swings and misses, so CW Blue had to settle for a modest 220-8.
When it came the turn of CW Green on their home pitch, they found life little easier. Manan Shah took the early wicket of Rob Malone jr., who hit a full toss to mid-on at chest height. And later, with his first ball, Ryan Dunn had Nick Scott caught at slip for 23. Sriram dismissed Martyn Corrin for 4 and left the Greens in strife on 54-3. Recovery was the mission as Sunil Reddy took guard, still looking to earn his place in the first team. Against the slower bowlers, he and Ben Read (42) battled hard and forged a partnership of 66.
But as is usually the case in cricket, one wicket brought two. First Reddy was run out by a direct hit from Cribb, then Read was bowled by an excellent Ben Taylor delivery in the next over. The long tail was exposed, so DeSilva recalled Shah to the attack. He quickly obliged with another breakthrough - the wicket of Forner (6) - and invited Bryce Cunningham to the crease. CW Green still needed 89 runs from the last 17 overs, so the batsmen began to play with more urgency, most evident in their running between the wickets. Ones became twos and the Greens kept up with the challenging requirement.
With 47 needed CW Blue got a crucial breakthrough. Dunn tricked Cunningham with a slower ball, and the allrounder picked out Bowen in the covers. Cameron was next in, and though he only scored 7, he assisted Dubb-Lynch in a partnership of 18 and reduced the target to 29. Sriram bowled his 9th over - the 46th - and picked up Cameron with a short ball. The pressure mounted and Dubb-Lynch responded with a flat swipe for four off DeSilva, and the Blue captain fell away and surrendered 11 runs in the 47th over. Shah failed to take the required wickets in the 48th over, instead giving up 7 runs. And with 7 needed from the final 12 balls, DeSilva asked Sriram to bowl the 49th over. Realizing that CW Green would have to be bowled out, he risked saving himself for the last over.
Sriram responded brilliantly to snare the wicket of Gundry, caught by the lone slip for 9. Ethan McNamara took guard amidst a shower of sledging and without any batting qualifications of note. He was beaten comprehensively first up, then edged his second ball short of slip. The ball bobbled past Young and the batsmen scrambled a single. But Sriram ended the over well with a yorker, keeping Dubb-Lynch off strike for the 50th. DeSilva made his way to the bowling crease slowly. It was too late to call upon one of his other part-time options, so he burdened himself with the responsibility. He offered a mix of slow and full deliveries, but the batsmen met them with deliberate pushes and desperate running. Off the 5th delivery, McNamara got a leading edge that dropped short of cover, and Dubb-Lynch put in a full-length slide to reach the striker's end, levelling the scores with his effort. Moments later the Greens stormed onto the pitch after he had pushed the ball past the diving bowler and run a quick winning single. It was his 42nd run and one of the most important of his career.
Cricket Web Blue innings 220-8 (50 overs)
PE Young 54 (63), T Mamesh 47 (57), MW DeSilva 38 (59)
JNE Forner 2-36 (10), PG Gundry 2-48 (10)
Cricket Web Green innings 221-9 (49.6 overs)
DY Dubb-Lynch 42* (46), BS Read 42 (66), S Reddy 32 (60)
G Sriram 4-46 (10), RG Dunn 2-41 (10)
Cricket Web Green won by 1 wicket.
Man of the Match: DY Dubb-Lynch
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Cricket Web Colts v Masters XI
Fardin Qayyumi CC
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Brian Lara dropped himself to number four and responded with an unbeaten 75 to take the Masters XI to an easy win over Cricket Web Colts. In murky conditions, neither team looked entirely at ease at the crease, but at the back end of the Master innings, conditions improved significantly and Lara and Martyn settled in to pen a comfortable 7-wicket margin.
The Colts were inserted by Lara and struggled to get going through the early part of their innings. Though the openers batted into the 20th over, neither was able to time the ball consistently. Wavell Hinds got the breakthrough, beating Will Kerr with an offcutter and bowling him for 31. He broke a 71-run partnership and the Masters were made to wait almost 20 more overs for a second wicket. Allrounder Mike Wilson continued his good form with 40, but miscued Warne and provided Hinds with a simple chance ahead of the slog overs. Jennifer Law approach her hundred and was torn between thoughts of a milestone and those of acceleration. She lost the middle order in quick time to the spin of Warne and Benkenstein, and the Colts unraveled in customary fashion.
Law played a couple of authoritative strokes to move into the 90s, but picked out Warne with a back foot drive when she had 96. The Colts struggled to 217-7 and braced themselves for a difficult defense with the ball. The Masters started positively though the ball moved awkwardly at times through the air. Wavell Hinds was first out, bowled by Wilson, and the wicket seemed to breath life back into the downhearted Colts. Klusener picked out Howgate at point when he had 28, supplying Greg Thomas with an early breakthrough, and suddenly the Masters were in trouble at 66-2.
Lara joined Hamish Marshall (23) to sure up the chase with a 47-run partnership. But the Colts were offered a lifeline when Marshall failed to clear the infield and was caught by Howgate off the bowling of McNamara. Ex-Australia batsman, Martyn walked to the middle short on one-day runs. He handled the pressure well from number five, a spot down from his usual, and started with a pleasant straight drive for 3 runs. The pitch seemed to get better and the batsmen obliged with more daring strokeplay. Thad Bochat twice roared in appeal in his 7th over, striking Lara on the pad. But both appeals were shaken off by the umpire, though replays suggested merit in each.
Lara raised his fifty in the next over and picked up more momentum on his way to victory. The partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 105 as the double world-record holder took a single to end the game.
Cricket Web Colts innings 217-7 (50 overs)
JA Law 96 (147), MW Wilson 40 (58), WA Kerr 31 (58)
SK Warne 3-45 (10), T Henderson 2-40 (10)
Masters XI innings 218-3 (38.3 overs)
BC Lara 75* (78), DR Martyn 46* (52), L Klusener 28 (33)
MW Wilson 1-36 (8.3)
Masters XI won by 7 wickets.
Man of the Match: BC Lara (Masters)
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Cricket Web Black v Cricket Web Red
Pickford Reserve
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Reece Congdon was thrust straight into the fire of Dev League cricket, finishing unbeaten on 17 as Cricket Web Black edged past Cricket Web Red by 5 wickets with an over to spare.
CW Black won the toss and chose to bowl first with a new look attack. The new ball swung a bit, so the Red openers were careful in their initial advances. They were met with very accurate bowling and found it difficult to gain momentum, even as they put on 82. Dave Richards ultimately dealt for Jamee Gray, having him caught at leg-slip and immediately pointing at his captain to celebrate his inventive field placement. Richards stayed over the wicket and Smith's plans paid off again, as Bennett (6) was taken by the same fielder, Congdon on debut. Then Luff, having just passed 50, padded up to Patrick and was lbw for 51.
Smith shuffled his bowlers for effect and kept pressure on his opponents. Even so, Kenny Dobson looked set on 37 before he pulled a long-hop to midwicket. It was the maiden wicket for Congdon, and he went on to bowl Zac Ritchie soon after in an impressive debut performance. The last of the recognized batting, Kearsley (27) backed away and missed a Gelman yorker in the 44th over. But there was spirit in the tail. Raghav hit a quick 12 off 9 balls and after he was out, Chris Dwyer combined with Dave Watt for a further 18 runs.
CW Red crawled to a barely competitive score of 223-8, but were quickly encouraged when Watt removed Smith in his first over. Smith hit a half-volley hard at the bowler, but Watt was up to the task, holding onto the catch and celebrating in manic fashion. The Black captain gave way to his most in-form batsman, Alex Blackman. And though he started slightly circumspect, edging his first two deliveries, he soon blossomed to justify his reputation. Ash Arnold also played some quality shots, then cut Watt into the lap of Dwyer when he looked set on 28.
The game was alive at that point, CW Black on 43-2. But the energy of the Red fielders trickled away the longer Blackman and Armstrong stayed at the crease. After their partnership crossed 100 the fielding took a turn for the atrocious. Regular misfields and two dropped catches off Armstrong practically surrendered the game to CW Black. Blackman was robbed of a deserved hundred by an outstanding athletic catch by Dwyer, and on debut, Speirs hoiked Kennett to the deep when he had just 1. The moment of madness gave CW Red a sniff of a result, but their fielding quickly gave away that advantage too. Dwyer looked a totally different player when he dropped a sitter that would have sent Armstrong off for 63 with the Blacks needing 29.
Armstrong added 10 more to his total and CW Black closed in on victory. He was out 8 short of the target, and Raghav dropped Congdon in his next over to overstate the inevitability of the result.
Cricket Web Red innings 223-8 (50 overs)
MD Luff 51 (80), GKK Dobson 37 (45), JR Gray 33 (66)
DP Richards 2-28 (6), RP Congdon 2-36 (6), ZE Gelman 2-44 (9)
Cricket Web Black innings 224-5 (48.6 overs)
AJ Blackman 91 (115), GAJ Armstrong 72 (106), AR Arnold 28 (33)
DJ Watt 2-37 (10), DM Kennett 2-38 (10)
Cricket Web Black won by 7 wickets.
Man of the Match: AJ Blackman (Black)