27 September - Day Two
Cricket Web Red vs Masters XI
at CW Oval
A controlled effort from Håkon Mørk has put Red in a position where they are unlikely to finish worse than second, requiring a mere 139 runs to secure the spot in the first-class final. A more polished bowling effort cut Justin Kemp short, before Red kept their wickets intact in front of a patient, yet nervous crowd.
Red were poor in the field during the opening overs, but David Kennett held two key catches to cut the innings short, and bowled during Kemp's slog to fall short of the hundred. Luff fell shortly after lunch, having already been granted one life, but the Masters looked unlikely to extract anything from the pitch, as Mørk and Gray ground out 53 from 21 overs until tea.
The post-tea session was also uneventful, except for a bizarre run out to cut short the season's leading run scorer, Jamee Gray, for 45. However, this brought on Rob Dauth, who was more than ready to strike out in order chase down maximum bonus points. A 56-ball half-century took ninety minutes to compile, largely due to Mørk hogging the strike, which means Red require 189 from 59 overs to secure maximum points and keep the threat from other teams away.
Masters XI 381 all out (107.5)
Kemp 98; Kennett 4/90, West 3/85, Amir 3/128
Cricket Web Red 211 for two (71)
Mørk 74*, Dauth 52*
Cricket Web Red trail by 170 runs with eight wickets in hand
Cricket Web Black vs Cricket Web Blue
at Pickford Reserve
Black took control of the match at Pickford thanks to a fine innings from a belligerent Daniel Smith. Sudeep Popat had supported Sam Morris well in the morning, adding 53 for the second bonus point, but Mohanan cut them short and Matt Smith used the new ball to dismiss Demeza.
Dan Smith and Ritchie bashed loose against the new ball, making 51 off the first 55 deliveries, and a little later Smith took Camps for two sixes in the 17th over. Blue needed a talismanic spell from Trav Demeza to wake up, and got it, as the captain fished out Ritchie and Cloete in the same over, and also had Smith dropped on 69 - prompting a furious wide which was easily cut to third man.
At tea, Black were 173 for two, and they should have made their advantage count. However, Smith never looked entirely comfortable during his knock, and the crowd were not entirely surprised when a loud appeal from Sean Fuller was granted to give the Black captain out for 109. Alex Blackman and Ash Chaulk eradicated the deficit with seven wickets in hand, however, before Liam Camps had both lbw with brilliant deliveries. Blake Donald then compiled 24 to give Blue an overnight lead of 42.
Cricket Web Blue 288 all out (80.3)
Morris 73*, S Young 64, Popat 41; Richards 3/51, M Smith 3/62, Mohanan 2/17, Gelman 2/56
Cricket Web Black 330 for six (72)
D Smith 109, Blackman 68, Ritchie 59; Demeza 3/109
Cricket Web Black lead by 42 runs with four wickets in hand
Cricket Web Green vs Cricket Web Colts
at CWBCC Stadium
The 'novelty XI' lost seventeen wickets in an embarrassing effort in front of their home crowd, as Colts kept their faint hopes of a final appearance alive. However, despite an excellent performance, they required help from the Blacks or Masters in order to support those hopes.
It was a day for bowling heroics. Mike Wilson and Tarick Weber were dominant off lacklustre bowling early on, but three wickets in seven balls whittled the Colts out for 419, though not before they had secured the final bonus point and a chance to earn 22 for the match.
However, compared to Green's batting, their bowling was excellent. The rotation of Wilson to the new ball worked wonders, as the Test allrounder had two men caught, and Raftery was lbw to Wright at first change. At lunch, Green were 44 for four, but their embarrassment did not end there.
The crowd went from angry to bemused as Green lost wickets at a rate of one every fifteen minutes. Kyle Wright and Mike Wilson shared eight wickets - including a run out - between them as Green slipped to 62 for eight, before a brief
intermezzo from Darren Dubb-Lynch boosted them to 123. Undeterred and with little fatigue, Wright sent his troops again, with much the same results. Greg Thomas, wicketless in the first dig, now took a five-wicket-haul as Green teetered on the brink of an innings defeat, despite another heroic eighth-wicket stand and unbeaten knock from Dubb-Lynch.
Cricket Web Colts 419 all out (117.1)
Butler 110, Fitzsimmons 79, Rai 66, Wilson 66; Raftery 2/34, E McNamara 2/68, J McNamara 2/69
Cricket Web Green 123 all out (29.2)
Dubb-Lynch 38*; Wilson 4/36, Wright 4/40
Cricket Web Green (following on) 156 for seven (41)
Dubb-Lynch 36*, Cameron 36*; Thomas 5/43
Cricket Web Green trail by 140 runs with three second-innings wickets in hand
Code:
Red 9 8 2 61 55 250
Blue 9 10 0 69 53 248
Black 9 7 3 54 54 246
Colts 7 6 6 62 55 239
Green 7 10 2 47 55 207 E