After a shaky Day 1 we came back and showed why we finished the season as Minor Premiers.

Day 1
Batting first we were rattled by very good bowling that had us 5/9 and looking down the barrel. This was due to a combination of reasons – excellent bowling and a batting order that was shuffled around with players turning up late (for all the right reasons – kids sport and so on) and people batting out of position. We struggled to 101 thanks mainly to a fabulous 42* by Geoff Richards.

With our bowling attack, probably the strongest for quality and depth in the Comp, we challenged 2nd placed Hornsby and had them 8/81 at one stage before they recovered to just pass us. Geoff was again superb taking 5/23 from 12 overs. He was well supported by Ben McNamarra (the Club’s top wicket taker) with 2/46 from 15 overs. His first spell of 14 straight went for only 34 runs. Add Andrew Watt who picked up 2/36 (11) and we pushed them all the way.

As the only way we could lose the Minor Premiership was to be beaten outright this was our main objective going into Day 2 – value our wickets.

Day 2
Another fine day and big task against a Team all out to beat us outright. This was our day. We lifted a gear and were never challenged – again, against a very good bowling side. Sahil (34) and Ross A (46) put on 85 for the opening partnership and sucked up just on 2 hours. This basically set up the game as we saw off their main strike weapons. Added to this we had a stable batting order with everyone batting in their right spots. It was especially good to see most blokes get a good hit-out under match conditions. Tony Hadley (38), Andrew Fiedler (32), Michael McDowell 23 and Geoff Richards 18* all had a chance of spending time in the middle. The 70 run partnership between Andrew and Tony took the game away from Hornsby completely. The match was finished early as it was basically over by Tea.

Overview
Day 1 was a shocker with the bat – every team though will have a bad one at some stage of the season. What was impressive was the way everyone fought back. Every player wanted to get out there and defend the 101 and win the game and we almost got there. Day 2 was virtually a win for us – we showed not just ourselves but also the Opposition what we are capable of doing.

Next week
The Semis start next week and we play at Red team for our first hit-out of the season against them. We play at Greenway Park starting at 1.00 pm over 2 Saturdays. Whichever way it goes West Penno will have a Team in the Final.

Ross A

Posted by Ross Anderson on February 26, 2008 06:27 AM