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Last updated 24-Jun-2007.
Match Report
Today's game was played in glorious sunshine at St James Hospital vs Portsmouth & Southsea. We had 2 changes again from the team that played last friday, with Luke Harrison and Josh McCarthy unavailable. Paul Millar and Alex Cooper played in their places.
The P & S captain won the toss and unfortunately, he put us in to bat, on a VERY green wicket (you couldn't differentiate between the outfield and the wicket).
We changed the openers round again this week, with Tom Clark opening up with Rob Carpenter. We didn't get off to the best of starts: Tom Clark (undoubtedly our most talented batsman) chipped a wide ball to cover on ball 6 of the whole game, for a disappointing 2 runs. Things got worse. Next ball (the first of the second over) Rob Carpenter got out, again caught at cover, but this time for a duck. This meant that we were now 2 for 2 off 1.1 overs. Hannah Clark and Alex Clarke were now batting together. Hannah got off the mark with a 4 hit to square leg, and tried to push some runs by driving. At this point though, the most important thing for the 3rd wicket partnership to do was to ensure we stayed at the crease for a while. Alex did his job and stuck around for a bit but was starting to get frustrated by the length of time he had been batting without scoring. Alex tried to hit out on a wide ball, and hit a high shot in the air between cover and mid on. I thought he'd picked the gap beautifully, but a diving one-handed catch ensured that Alex was on his way back to the pavilion. This brought Martin Lander to the crease. Again, Hannah and Martin wanted to try to stick around for a bit. However, Hannah got out in (about!) the 12th over, chipping to square leg for 12 runs. Mikey Psaila was the next to be dismissed. Mikey, trying to pull a ball that had pitched on off stump, was caught at mid on. Mikey got our 3rd duck of the game. Ben Robinson batted at 7, and played a very mature, and eventually, crucial innnings for us. Ben's innings consisted of several boundaries, including one huge 6 hit to mid wicket. He batted sensibly, even when wickets were falling around him, and made it his job to finish not out. Martin was the next to be dismissed. He was caught for a good score of 13 runs. The rest of our tail (Paul Millar, Zakk Raby, Toby Mitcheson and Alex Cooper) were all dismissed for ducks, with Zakk and Alex both unluckily getting goldens.
So after 17 overs, we had been bowled all out for 61. This was slightly disappointing, but both Ben and Martin showed what they were capable of with the bat.
So we went in to the field knowing that the total we were defending was fairly low. This prompted the captain to open with Martin Lander (in Luke's absence) and Tom Clark. They both bowled absolutely beautifully and finished with figures that really do represent the quality of their bowling. Martin got our first wicket: Rob took a very high catch at cover as the batsman misjudged the swing and managed a big top edge. Martin is a very consistant out swing bowler, but surprised us all this evening by bowling consistant in swingers- most uncharacteristically! After 4 overs, Martin finished with figures of 4-0-9-1. Tom, at the other end, also put alot of pressure on the batsman to score runs as their total was crawling along at 2 an over. Tom got our second breakthrough, bowling the number 3 batsman with a ball that moved back in and hit off half way up. Tom bowled really tightly, with most overs consisting of 4 or 5 toe crushing yorkers, making it impossible for the batsman to score. Tom figures after his 4 overs were 4-1-6-1. This meant after 8 overs, we were arguably on top with their run rate only just above 2 an over.
The next bowlers were Mikey Psaila and Rob Carpenter. They both bowled well and both also picked up wickets. Mikey managed to get a wicket with his first ball of the game in much the same way as he picked up his first wicket vs Burridge: a quick off spinning delivery turning from outside off to hit middle and off half way up. Mikey bowled his 4 over spell straight through and finished with 4-0-19-1. Rob also returned identical figures. Rob again bowled well, and picked up his wicket when the batsman tried to hit out against him and holed out to Martin Lander at mid off. Again, these two bowled well and ensured we stayed in a competitive position in the game, with them on 57-4 off 16 overs. Paul Millar was thrown the ball for the first time this season at a difficult time in the match, with them needing just 5 to win off 3 overs. Unfortunately, their two batsmen were both settled by this point and dispatched the first two balls of the over for 4, ensuring a P & S win.
Although we lost, we must not lose sight of how well we performed in the field. To put prssure on them the way we did with only a small target to defend was outstanding. Both Tom and Martin truly rose to the occassion and proved why the two of them have been selected for the district as bowlers. Rob and Mikey also bowled tightly and well, and in another game may well have picked up more wickets. Their economy rate in a 20 over game was exceptional. Also, the fielding was tight and decisive, unlike some of the other games we have played so far. There were no dropped catches this week, and we had 1 or 2 tight run out appeals. The team spirit was also something to be proud of. Everyone stayed positive and the atmosphere remained friendly, even in the face of defeat. Hopefully, next week will bring a different result - well played guys!
