Stragglers of Asia v Cryptics Sunday 5th May 2019

Match Drawn

Match Report

W.Russell won the toss on a cloudy, bitter morning and took the decision to bowl first. Billy and Harry Gravett opened up the attack; with their height over 6 foot and resembling athletic club cricketers, this seemed a good option with the new ball. However, Billy struggled to deliver the shiny ball and his first 5 overs went for 36, with Smith and Goldsworthy taking advantage of anything wide or short. Harry at the other end however, found his rhythm slightly quicker and began to plug the other end. Unfortunately for the Cryptics, Smith retired hurt with a strained hamstring on a well compiled 37, shortly before Mark Hunt trapped his opening partner Goldsworthy LBW for 41. A solid start for the Cryptics and despite a few chances given, had put the bad ball away well and maintained good concentration at the crease. Russell changed through 7 bowlers throughout the innings and mostly whilst McCullah and Gurney made the track look very playable, and it was offering little excitement. But that all changed when Salter whispered in Russell’s ear that B.Gravett is more of a 2nd change bowler who profits from a worn ball….this was well taken advice and changed the dynamics of the Cryptics innnings as B.Gravett ripped through 5 top order batsman in just 5 overs, all cleaned bowled by some snorters with one sending the off stump out the ground! Tails were up and whilst he performed so splendidly from one end, the standard of fielding remained high and wickets fell quickly. The Cryptics went from 215-3 to 252-8, and declared after 52 overs bowled.

The Stragglers got off to a steady start with Russell and Farrer sharing a 40 run partnership before tea and no wickets down after 16 overs. However, as is often the case, tea can break the concentration and flow of an innings, and wickets began to fall shortly thereafter. The Cryptics bowling was tight throughout and the bringing on of Buckland and Ireland made it difficult for the Stragglers to chase the score down as the overs ticked by. H. Gravett must get a mention for some

clean hitting and a quick fire 31 coming in at 5, but following his departure it then became very clear that we would be playing out for a draw as the run rate crept up to 8.5 just before the last 20 over point at 1730 with 5 wickets down (and 10 players on the team sheet). Phil McDuell applied himself well and showed his experience timing the ball well with any loose balls sent his way; he never looked vulnerable and remained not out to the end of the innings for a well crafted 19. Traditionally, N.Trapani had to strap up and put his coffee down pretty rapidly with just 5 overs to go after Hunt played a straight drive back to Ireland, and the Italian once again saved the day, blocking out every ball that came his way (whilst surrounded by 8 close fielders!). The end result was a draw with the Stragglers ending on 164-8. An early season game played against a good bunch.

Scorecard

Team Batting First: Cryptics

Team Batting Second: Stragglers of Asia