1st’s squeak a win vs MDAFS!

Saturday 8^th June vs MDAFS

After not being able to bring myself to write about our double header weekend 2 weekends ago, when we dropped both games with woeful batting displays, it’s great to be back in a winning way.

With yet another toss won, there was absolutely no doubt that we should bowl first at Leith Academy, on what can only be described as a strip that made Campbell Park look like Lords. Plenty of green grass, undulations and weeds made it look like a bowlers paradise, which it was!

Yet again we started with only 10 men on the field with CJE running late.

The dynamic duo of Shannon and Robin opened up with another brilliant spell of controlled bowling, seeing the MDAFS top 4 struggle to get off the mark. Robin bowled his 10 overs on the trot and finished with 2-24, including an LBW that took the top off a poor weed and saw the ball barely bounce off the ground.

Bonfield took 2 wickets in consecutive balls, including the MDAFS number 4, who didn’t offer a shot and was bowled middle and off! MDAFS were in real strife early on with the 4 quick wickets, but Zarkoob and Akerkar set about rebuilding the innings and made it through to drinks with the total at about 60odd for 4.

More sloppy fielding cost us dearly again this week with a number of regulation catches being put down, in particular Akerkar being dropped when he was only on around 15. He eventually fell for a very patient and well complied 50, when GT managed to cut one back that also didn’t bounce.

The MDAFS lower order benefited from playing their shots and got away on us a bit, with the 10^th wicket falling in the 50^th over with the score at 145. Which given the nature of the wicket, that was a very competitive total.

Time to redress the demons in our closet and have the top order bat us to an important victory.

What transpired was pretty much the exact opposite. Outside of an impressive knock of 66 from Charlie and another powerful 36 from Raja, 4 of the top 6 didn’t even trouble the scorers. In total we recorded 6 ducks, including a first baller for Tom Jordan that sent a horribly out of touch Skip in to face the hat-trick ball, which I somehow managed to keep out.

GT felt rather aggrieved with his LBW decision, feeling confident that he got an inside edge, but with no DRS in ESCA Div 1 he had to depart. That left us 8 down still with about 45 to get and Charlie looking very comfortable. Up stepped Milly who hasn’t had a lot of cricket this season and he set about supporting Charlie nicely.

In came Yelland the MDAFS skip for the day and early in his first or second over, he hit the same weed that Robin struck (to get his second LBW), which saw the ball cannon into the bottom of Charlie’s off-stump, out for a magnificent 66.

9 down with 23 required.

Robin and Milly looked like they were batting on a completely different pitch and hit the bad balls away for runs, kept out the good ones and a few bad ones! Edging ever closer to the mystical total of 146. Both lads plundered boundaries and had a few big LBW appeals turned down, the tension was immense.

Robin tucked the final ball of the 35^th over around the corner and scurried back for the second to seal a truly remarkable victory, where the final wicket partnership added 23* to put 20 points in the bag.

Milly finishing with 16* (the 3^rd highest score of the day) and Robin on 11* (5^th highest behind Milly and E.X. TRA’s on 13).