Scorecard
The
Village Greenies Ones 20-20 campaign came to a shuddering halt at Smith Road
Oval on Sunday.
The Greenies were paired with Esso
in the first semi-final of the day. Despite national team captain Ryan
Bovell being only one of Esso’s off season high
profile recruits, it would be the less fancied Suberan brothers engineering the
Esso victory.
Big matches tend to be won by big
individual performances and this was what was required after winning the toss
and batting first in ideal conditions. The Greenies bats would fail to
fire due to a fatal mix of over-aggression, poor shot selection and the ever
present shadow cast over games by rash umpiring decisions.
The side stumbled to a depressing
total of 96 all out. The innings included three run outs and other golden
rules of batting broken such as not batting out the overs and not batting in
partnerships.
Tom Stephens with 26 off 17
balls was the only top
order batsman to offer adequate resistance. Yet upon his dismissal, the Greenies
were still eyeing up a big total with the side 3 for 49 after 6 overs. The game
would have been different if any one of the top order of Monico (8), Watson
(11), Cameron (9) and Brown (12) had taken the opportunity presented. A steady stream of
wickets from there in saw the side dismissed in a dismal 14 overs. The
disappointing result epitomised by the bowling of S Suberan, a Division 2
journeyman taking 3 wickets in 4 overs against a Greenies Ones side lacking
neither in depth or quality of
batting.
Credit must be given to
the Esso fielding. While they threw overthrows, failed to stop twos in the
outfield and ones in the circle, they did take their catches and effected three
quality run outs when taken on in the field.
The LBW
decision against the luckless Ledger came at a pivotal point in the
match. The disappointing decision sparked vocal objections from numerous
onlookers and served as an ominous indicator that it just wasn’t going to be our
day. Such decisions seem an ever-present part of life in Cayman cricket but
as skipper Watson testifies, complaining gets us nowhere and we just need to
play 10% better to counter it.
Sides have failed to
chase lower scores than 96 in a semi-final and the Esso opening batsman
immediately began contributing to a tight finish. A combination of some
tight bowling, especially from man of the match Josh Brown (1 for 10 off four
overs) and slow batting from
the much maligned Palmer (3 off 22 balls) meant that the Greenies
would be in the game for a long time.
Hector bounced back off
the canvas from a loose first over to record tidy figures of 0-18 off
four. Wrendon was a standout in the field exhibiting much high-spirited
energy and movement and showing the attacking and aggressive mentality at the
core of all aspects of the 20-20 game. Watson led from the front with 1 for 14
off 4 overs and with three overs remaining the match was in the balance with
Esso still requiring 20 runs.
It wasn’t to be with Esso scoring
the required 4 runs from the final over. Bovell remained not out 19,
Successfully defending
a small total requires a clinical fielding and bowling display and while the
Greenies overall performance was of a high standard there were still a few
errors that proved costly. 23 extras in Esso’s total of 98 another disappointing
aspect of the game. To win the forthcoming league we
must win close games and perhaps losing narrowly to Esso and Police were most
disappointing in this respect.
While the 20-20 title
may have eluded us, the pre-season tournament has provided the team vital
exposure to pressure situations. We have seen what the other teams have to offer
and what will be required to defeat them. While the Greenies lack the big
names of the competition, at full strength we have more batting and bowling
depth and more fielding talent than any other side and the 20-20 tournament has
done nothing but re-affirm this.
A sad day for the team
but we will bounce back, and a few smiles had even began returning to faces by
the end of the fine session. Best wishes and full support for the
Toos next Sunday.
MOTM – Josh Brown 1 for 10 off four
overs
COTD – Rupert for mystery
illness
Play of the day – Wrendons
catch
J Michael Outlet award for fashion –
Ledger in his girlfriends hat
Presidents award – not
awarded
