May 24
Cricket Web Black v Cricket Web Colts
Fardin Qayyumi CC
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
James Stedman and Ash Chaulk continued their race to Cricket Web XI colours, battering the Colts attack in an extraordinary 10-wicket win. Both batsmen were at their peak, in the form of their careers. They put on 255 runs to win the game with almost 15 overs to spare.
The Colts were savaged and entirely outplayed by their guests. Though the target was potentially challenging, Stedman and Chaulk approached it with extreme confidence, and barring their play against Greg Thomas, they scarcely showed respect for any of the attack Daniel Towns threw their way. The much-celebrated spin pairing of McNamara and Weber conceded figures of 7-0-61-0, though the six other bowlers also suffered in turn. Yet it was not bad bowling by the Colts, but rather a spectacularly arrogant performance by batsmen in a class of their own.
Stedman's hundred took 79 balls, whilst Chaulk was a lot slower in taking 96 balls for his. Only one chance came in the innings, a dropped catch by Butler off the bowling of Towns and the batting of Stedman. But by then the opening pairing had reduced the requirement to 51 from 120 balls and the game was all but over. As a last measure of insult, Chaulk finished the game with a straight six over Bochat's head.
Earlier the Colts played well in the same conditions, but on a day when 'good' was never going to be enough. Shan Jasotharan and Daniel Towns put on 124 for the first wicket, and perhaps the Colts should then have gone on to a score close to 300 than their eventual 254-7. However, in hindsight, it hardly would have mattered. Kev Gough took 3 more wickets, but did not bowl as well as hoped. Dave Richards was then the best bowler on show, though his figures suffered late in his spell. At the top, Jasotharan's 73 set things up, then Mike Wilson down the order carried the Colts to their sporting total. He scored 38 not out from 24 balls. Had he, and his peers, performed as well with the ball, we may not have seen such a lopsided affair.
Cricket Web Colts 254-7 (50 overs)
S Jasotharan 73 [99], DP Towns 41 [72], MW Wilson 38* [24]
KJ Gough 3-56, DP Richards 2-53, ZE Gelman 2-59
Cricket Web Black 255-0 (35.1 overs)
JE Stedman 125* [106], AP Chaulk 118* [105]
Cricket Web Black won by 10 wickets.
Man of the Match: JE Stedman
Cricket Web Green v Cricket Web Blue
PDV Dome
Scorecard
Ball by Ball
Robert Cribb and Ben Wilshere played close to the innings of their careers, guiding Cricket Web Blue back from seeming certain defeat to a 4-wicket victory over Cricket Web Green. After the Blues struggled at 145-6 and chasing 247 to win, Cribb and Wilshere added 102 unbroken in their brave rearguard.
It was not a partnership of boundaries or of tame singles, but rather of balance. In realizing that the run rate requirement hovered around an achievable 5 for the entirety of the game, the batsmen utilized their speed between the wickets and played sensibly in calmly edging toward the total. Matt Smith, Ryan Dunn and Travis Demeza were the men left to enter after the 7th wicket fall, so the partnership was absolutely crucial to success. Dinu DeSilva set up the innings earlier, but was out too soon with 52 to his name. Mitchell was the outstanding seamer on the day. He bowled Camps for 24, then removed Crampton for a painless 5. Cunningham got Bowen for 1, and with 6 wickets in the bag, CW Green would have backed themselves and their table-topping form to close out the game. Patience and heart denied them, however, and Cribb and Wilshere scored 65 and 53 respectively.
For CW Green, such a total as 246-8 owed much to the efforts of Nick Scott and Anthony Lezama. After their second wicket stand of 121, the innings was on track for something immense. Martyn Corrin continued the momentum with 27 from 15, but Camps took his and 3 other wickets late in the innings, limiting the extent of damage. Ben Read was unbeaten at the end, though he only faced 11 balls and scored 14 runs.
As Xavier Rose struck in his first over, removing Sean Fuller to a slip catch, it looked another route for CW Blue. But the spirit that has won them recent first-class fixtures was finally transferred to the one-day format, handing the Greens a rare defeat.
Cricket Web Green 246-8 (50 overs)
NG Scott 80 [105], A Lezama 73 [117], M Corrin 27 [15]
LA Camps 4-40 [10], MJ Smith 2-58 [10]
Cricket Web Blue 247-6 (48.2 overs)
RGEWS Cribb 65* [84], BL Wilshere 53* [64], MW DeSilva 52 [64]
MT Mitchell 2-39 [10]
Cricket Web Blue won by 4 wickets.
Man of the Match: RGEWS Cribb
is all I have to say really. Clutes and Chaulk were gun and Donald making the first AR spot above Dav his with some good bowling, but jeez, no one seems to be able to stand up when they need to win us a game. Think that's draws now, and I've got nfi what to do to stop them. Rain doesn't help.
(I won't be laughing last, though 
)
