Teuchters tamed as Cross win Activcity Round 1 clash

Holy Cross brushed aside a brave Teuchters in Thursday night's Activcity Trophy Round 1 tie at Fortress Arbo.
Played in the temperatures more akin to the Algarve than the Arbo, the game really did have that 'summer is here' feel good factor about it.

Dougie won the toss and elected to bat first.  This was possibly wise given the 20 degrees on offer for the fielders to run about it.

It was a slow start from Owais and KF until the 4th over when Owais hit back to back boundaries.  By the end of the 7th, the Cross had reachd 54-0. 

The first wicket fell shortly after.  Ali bowled KF with a sweet delivery and the big man was heading back to the portacabins for a rest.  56-1.

One poor Teuchters bowler met a hungry Owais and for one of the tourists fielders, it was an unwelcome trip to Stew Mel to recover the ball following a mahoosive 6 which cleared the Fortress.  Owais was batting for fun.  By the end of the 10th, Cross were 89-1. 

The 13th over was another expensive one. A couple of sixes and a boundary saw the score leap to 128-1. 

Not wishing to be outdone, Charlie was lashing out and he was knocking out a few boundaries of his own.  Sadly for the Club Man of the Century, he was sucked in and it was to be his downfall.  Swing. Miss. Stump. WALK!

It was the school of hard knocks for the 6th Division Teuchters outfit and it didn't get any better as short and tired deliveries where knocked about with some ease and with 2 overs to go, Cross had reached 179-2.  Was the double century on?

Archer (32), Ellis (43) and Fraser (26) together with Owais (68) contributed signficantly to a final total of 202.  A comedy run out at the end and a Trewartha Golden Duck also noteable incidents from busy 20 overs.

The teams retired to the sheds.  So far this season, it's been to get a heat or shelter from the rain.  Instead, the teams went to reapply sunscreen and take on fluids before reappearing.

An early breakthrough by Trewartha saw Teuchters lose an early wicket with 5 runs on the board.  Not long after, McOscar's pin-point accuracy lead to the Kilted Kiwi secure the run out of batsman No.2.

Back came Trewartha and back went another batsman.  Straight down the middle and virtually unplayable.  The poor batsman had no chance.  Teuchters now 11-3 and facing an early exit from the tourney.

The scoreboard had barely trickled up to 20 before Vikram secured another scalp then a few overs later, he was at it again.  A plum delivery offering the umpire the easiest of LBW calls and Teuchters were up to 40-5.

The sun was going down and Teuchters were going out.  But not without a fight.  A defient couple of boundaries were still on offer however any comeback was shortlived when Charlie got his name on the scoresheet.  45-6.

Dougie took what proved to be the final wicket of the night and from the last ball of the evening, Teuchters managed a single run which at least gave them a morale win of reaching the half-century.

So, another win a Fortress Arbo and Round 2 of the Activcity to look forward to.

Broonster has all the action from the game in picture format on his Facebook page