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2nd XI v Strathallan
by Our Our Indian Correspondent - Hitta Bundaree
The beautiful surroundings of Tyninghame Cricket Club welcomed the 2nds this Saturday and huge thanks to John Coleman, who sat on his tractor for most of Friday evening cutting the pitch and outfield and marking the wicket. As the picture shows, it is a lovely setting for a nice afternoon’s cricket. (Haven’t been there in the rain, have you? Ed)
Belhaven batted first and it became apparent that the Lake District and Outward bound trips had taken their toll on the cricketing abilities of this illustrious team! Cap Heck stayed in for most of the innings and scored a valuable 23 - playing the almost perfect anchor innings.
Meanwhile, the other batsmen were swinging lustily but not making much contact and 6 batsmen made 16 runs between them. Thank goodness for X. T. Ras, that wonderful constructor of runs, who gave Belhaven 32 of them to add to their rather otherwise meagre tally!
But at least all the Leavers got a bat, though most did not make the most of their final spell at the crease, preferring to waft their bats in the general direction of the ball and were either caught or bowled. Oh, dear! Still, looking on the bright side, no-one was run out - that most ignominious of dismissals!
The pitch was not encouraging the ball onto the bat and so many of our batsmen were playing their shots far too soon. Now, normally, this would not matter much but today too many balls were being hit gently into the air. That there were no fielders in close proximity was to Belhaven’s advantage and the batsmen utilised this often.
By the time 20 overs was up the 10 batsmen had scored 60 from the bat and Tom A-W had made his first ever runs in his first ever match for the 2nds - a proud moment.
Thus a quick slurp of juice at half time for refreshment and back on with the game. Geordie and George opened and bowled out their allotted 4 overs a-piece, but they were not on form. Having said that, George took 2 wickets in his first over - a couple of rank long-hops that the batsmen simply missed! At least the bowling was straight if not pitched up. Geordie couldn’t penetrate the batsmen but his bowling became more accurate.
George picked up 2 more wickets from equally bad balls but so what? They all count and with a run out to boot Strathallan were 15 for 4 off 6 overs. The run out was a well planned series of actions, taking weeks of hard practice. The ball was hit to wide mid-on (Lachlan) who pounced on it, missed and lay sprawled on the ground, thus masking where the ball was. The batsmen duly started to run. Andrew quickly ran in to pick up and throw the ball from somewhere near Lachlan and before the batsmen had a chance to realise what was happening, the stumps had been broken by a grateful Cap Heck. I’m so glad that move has actually worked - well done Lachlan!
Ali and Douglas joined in the fun and took wickets, though Charlie and Jake couldn’t quite get the ball on target though were pretty close. Jake, however, did get a wicket from a ball that pitched some way outside off stump. The batsman leaned over and swiped only to get a thick inside edge which dragged the ball onto the stumps. General rejoicing and high fives all round for Jake’s first wicket of the season (or indeed his cricketing career so far? Ed).
There was little danger of Strathallan reaching the required total, hence the Cap’s decision to bowl all the Leavers - a noble and right thing to do! Lachlan came on and with his 3rd delivery managed to bamboozle the batsmen into trying to hit the ball out of the ground. It got as far as Geordie who made no mistake (unusual behaviour for Geordie? Ed) and pouched it cleanly. End of innings and end of season for this magnificent team of talented individuals.
What more could a cricket coach want? (Well, now you ask, how about some better ....? Ed) An undefeated season against other Prep schools, everyone having a go at batting and bowling, personal bests from everyone and of course brilliant fun. Add to that the fantastic Supporters’ Club and the season’s cup hath overflowed. Thank you all, as it has been a privilege and pleasure to coach you through thick and thin, rain and sh ... (Oh, for goodness’ sake, put a sock in it! Enough, already! Ed)
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David Peek, 22/06/2009 |
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