A tale of two very different days
I can’t really say it’s a pleasure to make the trek across the border, but for the sake of reporting on cricket I was willing to make the journey.
What I saw in the Round 6 2nd grade match between the Tiges and QDCC was a game of two very contrasting days…and so I’ll report on them separately.
Day 1:
Overnight rain meant that the toss could be vital, and so the Tiges were happy when skipper Roweth won the toss and elected to bowl on a slightly damp pitch. Aditya Thumma and Adam O’Connor both had tight opening spells, and were unlucky not to grab an early breakthrough. Aditya in particular (whose opening spell of 6 overs went for only 8 runs) was unlucky to see a chance go down in the cordon…one which would later prove costly.
The introduction of Jak Wilcox was the spark that started the wickets falling. His combination of lots of movement and impressive control brought about the downfall of Queanbeyan’s top 4, three of which had their castle shattered by the young Tiger.
With all the wickets falling from Jak’s end Brendo decided he’d take matters into his own hands from the other end, and so he brought himself on…and he was also able to produce some magic moments, picking up three wickets of his own, with some varying pace and away movement working in his favour.
Tight lines and lengths all day helped the Tigers to make it difficult for the QDCC batsmen to get into any sort of rhythm.
After one short rain delay, the players were permanently sent to the sheds just before tea with QDCC struggling 7-120, with no further play being possible on day one.
‘Catches win matches’ is a cliché for a good reason…it’s true! If not for dropping one of the QDCC openers twice early, a player who went on to score 82 out of the overnight score of 120, the young Tiges may have had bats in hand before the rain hit. Hopefully it’s a lesson learned.
Day 2:
As I’ve already reported, day 2 was very different. The first difference was the line-up. Missing a whole stack of the team to the national 15’s, the Tigers were unfortunately only able to field 9 players for day 2 of the match. Amongst those 9 were a couple of returning long term absentees and some talent from the lower grades.
Heading back into the field GCC were keen to wrap up the tail as quickly as possible, but, despite some quality bowling, unfortunately a combination of some decent batting, extra gaps in the field, and some bad luck, allowed QDCC to reach 206. Muzz helped plug the gaps for a big chunk of the morning, which was greatly appreciated!
Unfortunately, with bats finally in hand, the Tigers lost their 8 wickets for only 58 runs the first time around, and were sent back in to have a second crack. In the second dig they showed some better ticker, and managed to avoid an outright loss by one wicket. Despite the scoreboard, there were some good positives to take out of day 2.
Firstly the return to cricket of Queanbeyan local James ‘Moobies’ Coate. His 23 in the first innings was pure class, and he bowled some quality leggies too. Hopefully it reignited some passion in the big man!
Chris Smashes one over the bowlers head
John Colley was sensational! He got a promotion, not only up the grades, but up the order as well, and handled it exceptionally well, particularly in the second innings. Batting at three on a tough pitch against some quality bowling he managed to score 30odd, but it was the way he scored them as much as the amount he got which was impressive. He proved that he could be a major asset at the top of order for 3s come finals time!
Chris Nicoladis was very impressive in playing a mature innings of 74 in the second innings. He spread the field by hitting early boundaries, before taking advantage of the gaps by picking up singles, before firing up again when some pie-chuckers came on, making the most of some slow fullies. Hopefully he can build a few more innings in a similar fashion in the future.
Jake Provan and Adam O’Connor were impressive in getting in behind the ball and surviving 5 or so overs together as the last wicket stand to help avoid outright defeat.
It was also good to have Adam Clunes join his twin back in the Tiger colours, and his constant chatter was amusing, even if sometimes concerning!
Until next time, when I hope I have a better result to report on,
Joanne Beaggle
House of Hounds
Sheridan, Wyoming
