How to write matchreports

Improving Predators make it tough for the Wombats

Improving Predators make it tough for Wombats Although the result did not go in our favor, the team put up a gallant effort against a formidable opponent on Sunday in the 2nd League game for the year. van pic Team vs Wombats, 31 May 2009.
  The day got off to a shocking start, when the ground was not made available for cricket due to some rather untoward softball characters.
  Enough said in this forum and one for the "remember when" awards. A 2hr delay resulted in a 35 over match being played. This is something which does not sit entirely well with me as I believe that games should be reduced only in the result of rain, playing conditions, etc and not through mismanagement.  Regardless it was a great achievement from the umpires to organise the day so we could get as many overs in as possible - thanks Dave and Chris from the Sharks.
  I lost the toss which was disappointing considering the length of the outfield (which we later would find out it would turn 4's and 3's into singles and sometimes not even that!) and forecast of rain mid afternoon.
  The Wombats always chase well, so we would have had to score a large target to give ourselves any chance. Ankit who was possibly playing his last game for the club in Season 2009, opened up the innings with Graeme and both looked solid against the Wombats opening bowlers, neither doing anything major to trouble the batsmen.
 The tall Tasmanian from the shed end was getting some to cut back in, but his colleague struggled. If the Wombats had a genuine 2nd opening bowler it would definitely make them a more complete outfit. van pic Graeme and Ankit head out to open Graeme departed for 16 and was replaced by Prasad. Unfortunately Prasad didn't trouble the scorers and played a soft shot to depart for 0. Kiran was looking comfortable at the crease and was starting to move the scoreboard along nicely when the Wombats did the worst possible thing and that was to antagonize him...it fired him up and he started hitting all bowlers to every part of the field. It was good old fashioned tough cricket with Kiran enjoying many pleasantries with the usual crew from the opposition.
 There were comments and sniggers and yelling and probably some crocodile tears from all and sundry, but in the end the Kiran scored his first century of 2009. After Ankit was bowled (16) and the scoreline reading 3 for 55 in the 13th over, I joined Kiran and a hostile welcome out in the middle. The opposition Captain, really had my measure bowling a tight line outside off stump - in the end it was more of a frustration to him than a problem to me as the only time I managed to lay bat on ball to him, I benefited from a spilled chance behind the stumps. I did have fun listening to some of those old chestnut favourite comments from slips though...all good stuff and a nice distraction from the threatening weather. van pic Three old blokes stopped by to watch With Kiran at the other end really starting to take to the bowlers the scoreline was gathering momentum.   After a partnership of 87 (which is a shockingly superstitious number!), I departed for a hard earned and struggling 16. With 8 overs left it was crash and bash time from our big hitting batsmen Rob and Robin. Unfortunately conditions were very difficult after a rain interruption, the outfield was even slower, the ball was skidding all over the place and the momentum swung back to the fielding side after we lost several quick wickets. We were bowled out with the score on 188 in the 35th over...not a bad effort considering the conditions. With a normal outfield, it was a 220 scoreline so we should be pretty happy with the result. It was disappointing to not get our score over the 200 and I think an extra 20-30 runs would have buoyed our mood a lot more. We had a collapse of sorts with our last 6 batsmen only contributing 9 runs. It was however in the last 7 or 8 overs and we were trying to increase the run rate in difficult conditions. Congratulations go to Kiran for his fine innings.

 The score was a reasonable one, but we needed to take any chances presented to us in order to combat the Wombats top order batsmen. I opened up with Nick and his spinners and the gamble paid off when he removed one of the openers in his 2nd over after a miscue went to me at Mid-wicket. It was a good start. Younus then claimed the aggressive number 3 batsmen for the Wombats caught by Prasad who took a fine catch on the boundary and at 2 for 46 after 11 overs we were definitely in the hunt.
  The other opener Burke and the Wombats number 4 were setting themselves, but both presented 2 tough chances which if we had held may have swung the game our way. Sometimes hard catches stick and the game changes, but it was not to be. van pic Robin bowls in his first game in 2009 All bowlers did a good job in bowling aggressively throughout the innings and the Wombats batsmen did not really get on top of us until after the 20 over mark. Extras were really kept to a minimum and all bowlers tried valiantly to reduce the run rate and take that crucial wicket that might have given us some momentum. The final scoreline was a convincing win to the Wombats on paper but it was a lot closer than it suggested. Credit to the Wombats batsmen, especially Steve Burke who I think played a very controlled and measured innings giving only a half chance and playing some fine shots.
  Special mention goes to Rob who in the field gave his all. Ankit bowled 7 overs straight and did very well being a little unlucky with some LBW's, and the usual suspects of Younus, Deepak and Nick all bowled to the high level we expect from them.
  Amit should also be congratulated on a pretty reasonable day behind the stumps as well. I thought we performed well for most of the day and were very competitive against what is a strong side.
  The way we played would have beaten most other sides in the League, so well done to everyone.

 Thanks go to Chris and Dave from the Ichihara Sharks for umpiring who I firmly believe are two of the best umpires going around at the moment. Congratulations to the Wombats for the victory. The Wombats have a couple of quality players who display great cricketing skills. It is also terrific to hear from the Wombats man of the match number 4 bat Chuck, openly request and hope that "what happens on the field, stays on the field which was supported by the rest of his team mates". That's the traditional way sport should be played and it's nice to hear from the opposition. Bit of a break now between games with the next hit-out toward the end of June. There are some positive signs for the club and if we can win a couple of our next games in the JCL we still can give ourselves a chance of grabbing a place in the semi finals.

Regards Andrew Marshall

Predators throw it away against Sano - first league match of 2009

It took me a long time to work out how to write this match report...nearly every aspect of our game was positive and we dominated in nearly every department for the majority of the match. As the heading suggests though, our hard work was undone with another batting collapse of massive proportions which meant a certain victory and the 4 points slipped through our fingers.

Team vs Sano, 11 April 2009
The day got off to a good start with a winning of the toss...3 from 4 for the year. The decision almost paid off in the second over when Rob on his first delivery got the batsman cutting and slashed his shot to Kiran at point who got a hand to it but spilled the well timed shot. This is the second game in a row Rob nearly produced a wicket on his first delivery. Rob did however strike in his second over with an amazing catch by Amit at short cover and we were rolling. Celebration however, turned to concern when Rob bowled his second above waist high full toss and was taken out of the attack by the umpire just 1 ball later, his wicket taking spell just lasting 1.1 overs.After this setback, it would have been easy to have given up...1 bowler down, a good batting lineup to face off against...it would have been an easy choice to simply roll over. We didn't though and this was probably one of the better bowling efforts I have been associated with during my time at the Predators.Everyone chipped in and wickets were steadily taken by our committed bowlers. Ankit, Younis,Vinit and Deepak B all bowling a tight line in their maximum amount of overs. Our fielding was of a high standard with some great catches by Younus, Vinit and Graeme. It was a tough day in the field but everyone applied great pressure for the entire innings which is something we have been working on in our recent games. Apart from a couple of minor blemishes the fielding was probably the best standard we had played at for the year. I was particularly impressed at our last 10 overs in the field when we continued to take wickets and apply pressure. Few runs were scored and we certainly achieved our objective to keep their scoreline down with the 40 overs only brining Sano 205 runs.Well done to Prasad who was thrown the ball to make up some of the overs we lost when Rob was taken out of the attack. I thought Deepak Binwal bowled particularly well also winning all the battles with the opposition batsmen.

Bowler Overs Wickets Runs
Younis 8 2 34
Rob 1.2 1 4
Prasad 5.4 1 25
Vinit 8 1 42
Ankit 9 1 73
Deepak B 8 2 12
Kiran 1 0 5

Our batting chase was hindered in the 2nd over when Ankit was the recipient of some remarkable catching. A diving fielder snapped up a well hit cut shot and Ankit was heading back to the sheds wondering what happened. Prasad and Graeme however steadied the ship, with Graeme looking like he could score 200 hitting the boundary on several occasions. Graeme looked set when he hit a very hard shot to square leg who seemingly ended up catching the ball in his stomach, 2 for 43. Prasad was playing a very defensive and supporting role to Kiran, but unfortunately played on and our scoreline read 3 for 61. Younus joined Kiran and had a 55 run partnership which took us to drinks at the end of the 18th over in a commanding position.

At 3 for 116 after 18 overs, to say we were cruising to victory was an understatement. Younis was supporting Kiran well after he had reached his 50 just before drinks. Then the most remarkable collapse occurred. We lost Kiran for a very well played 54 and I joined Younis at the crease, 4 for 116 - the question of losing still not in the equation...plenty of batsmen and overs left. The opposition then bought on a leg spinner who our batsmen gave more respect to than if we were facing Warnie. We immediately lost Younis dabbing a shot to slips, 5 for 121. Amit lasted 4 balls with another dab to gully off the leg spinner and we were 6 for 123. Deepak Sharma and Vinit repeated the exact same shots in 2 consecutive balls and we were suddenly at 8 for 123. In the space of 3 overs our score was reduced to 8 for 123 and victory was well off the radar. In one 9 ball period, their leg spinner took 4 wickets for 0 runs with every batsmen departing in the exact same fashion with a leading edge to a gully or slip fielder. Feeling quite helpless at the non-striker's end I witnessed a very non threatening bowler clean up 4 batsmen with very non threatening deliveries. In the space of 4 overs our team lost 5 for 8 runs to turn our run chase into a shambles.

Rob and I tried valiantly to keep the scoreboard ticking along and shared a 9th wicket partnership of 43 to take the score to 166 and within reach of victory. Rob was the recipient of some good old fashion luck with one of his shots hitting his stumps without lodging the bail and another skyward shot being dropped. Rob did however bat very sensibly and up until I played on in the 32nd over, it did seem we could get over the line. Deepak Binwal tried his best but holed out not long after my departure with the final scoreline all out for 169 in the 33rd over. Rob finished with 27 not out which was a valiant effort considering the circumstances - well done Rob. Well done also to Kiran who played a great top order innings and helped set up what should have been a victory.

Bastman How Out Runs
Graeme caught 22
Ankit Caught 1
Prasad Bowled 20
Kiran Caught 54
Younus Caught 8
Andy Bowled 15
Amit Caught 1
Deepak S Caught 0
Vinit Caught 0
Rob not out 27
Deepak B caught 0
Extras  31
Total  169/10

The result was a frustrating one. Our bowlers and fielders dug deep after the setback with Rob being taken out of the attack to keep the scoreline to a very small and easily reached target. Our top order although without luck put us in an easy position to win. We then lost the game in a 3 over spell and wasted all of the hard work we had done leading up to this period and all of the hard work we had put in over the last 3 practice games. The positive out of this game is that we were the better team in every department up until our collapse, we need to use this experience and learn from it if we want to win our 2nd League game on the 24th of May.

Andrew Marshall

Predators sneak home against Paddy Foleys - Game 1 of the Golden Bat Series

Game 3 of the 2008 Golden Bat Series was competitive affair with over 520 runs scored between the two teams. Game 1 of the 2009 series was yet another close game which had runs and wickets galore with over 430 runs scored and 17 wickets for the day. Luckily we inched over the line and have now taken a 1-0 lead in the 3 game series and bought up our first win of 2009. It was a day of contrasts with both the weather and the performances of both teams changing throughout the match - the result being a narrow victory to the Predators, 8 wickets down in the 35th over chasing 218.

Having lost the toss for the first time in 2009, the Foley's Skipper put us into field first. Regardless of batting or bowling first, the Foley's team always lifts a gear when playing us and with each team wanting to take the first game of the series it was important for our bowlers to get off to a good start. Younis was again hitting the right spots on the pitch and kept a tight line eventually taking one of their openers. Vinit was unlucky from the other end bowling at a nice pace but again without luck, a tough chance going down in the slips and that elusive maiden wicket having to wait. Nick replaced Vinit but struggled through a couple of overs with lower back pain and was replaced by Noble who claimed his first wickets for the Predators after bowling a fine 8 over spell. Younis was replaced by Ankit and he bowled with good pace producing a wicket and a few half chances that didn't quite fall our way. Peter Gunning, a dangerous player with the bat was run out after he set himself for a big individual innings but at drinks Foleys were still scoring quite well, with plenty of wickets in hand and looking at a good 220+ score to set us. Noble and Ankit leading up to drinks bowled very well in tandem and it is an exciting prospect to have these bowlers work so well together.

Jason playing his second game for the Predators bowled after the break from the "Shed End" and after a couple of wobbly warm up delivers allowed the Predators to take the upper hand by taking the prize wicket of Sule, Paddy Foley's best batsmen who had bought his half century up in quick time prior to the break. Vinit took a great catch at Fine leg and a well deserved maiden wicket for the club was taken. Jason was not finished though and again claimed another big wicket with a nice looping delivery that beat the opposition's Captain knocking over middle stump. It was a great 5 over spell by Jason eventually finishing with 5 for 28 off 5 overs. Tim was bought on to replicate the wicket taking but had the case of the yips and couldn't find his line. Openers Vinit and Younis closed out the innings after another run out in the latter stages and Foley's eventually finished at 9 for 218 off their 40 overs.

Overall it was an improved performance in the field with only a couple of tough chances spilled and a few minor misfields. The extras total was 66 for the 40 overs which is not satisfactory at all. There were a couple of big overs of extras (no names mentioned!) but even with those taken off the total, there were too many runs handed to the opposition in this area and this is a focus area now for our bowlers for the upcoming matches.

Bowler Overs Wickets Runs
Younis 8 2 28
Vinit 8 0 53
Ankit 7 1 18
Nick 2 0 32
Noble 8 2 34
Jason 5 2 28
Tim 2 0 22

Deepak Sharma was promoted up the order to open the innings with Ankit and things got off to a flyer with 12 runs coming off the first over. Peter the Foley's opening bowler had a well placed bouncer heading towards Ankit' temple, but he dealt with it appropriately with a cracking hook shot to the boundary. Sule however took the advantage back from us in the second over by bowling Deepak for a duck. Amit joined Ankit and steadied the ship with some nice stroke-play and he and Ankit raced the score along but in the 8th over and the score at 61, Amit played around a Sule delivery and the Predators were 2 for 61. Kiran joined Ankit and played a backseat role in a 40 run partnership scoring 5 before being adjudged plumb LBW off Jeff Flew' first delivery of his spell - 3 for 101 in the 13th over. Tim and Ankit then had a 52 run partnership with Tim having a couple of cracking 4's but again Ankit was taking the lead in the partnerships and scoring freely bringing up his 50 in 45 balls before the break.

Ankit and Deepak head out to bat
After 20 overs and the score-line 3 for 153 we were placed to win the game easily and with the rain coming down steadily at the drinks break it would have been nice to have finished off the total, get back in the warmth of a car and head on back up the freeway. To Paddy Foleys credit though, they came back after drinks with new found vigor, running out Tim in the first over after drinks and then taking 2 quick wickets to plant an element of doubt. Ankit was removed for a fine 75, the score-line 5 for 156, then Noble for 1 and signs of a fight back victory from our opposition were evident - 6 for 163. Younis contributed 16 before being bowled by leg spinner Des who bowled a great line and length and I joined Nick at the crease, 7 for 196 and the pressure really on. Nick's solid 14 took us closer to the total but Des yet again bowled a superb delivery bowling him cleanly. Vinit joined me at the crease and with only a half dozen runs to get and 2 wickets at hand it looked like a formality. Vinit survived a very close LBW appeal which would have made things interesting, however we eventually got the runs with 5 overs to spare.

Bastman How Out Runs
Ankit caught 75
Deepak S Caught 0
Amit Bowled 24
Kiran LBW 5
Tim Run Out 13
Younis Bowled 16
Nick Bowled 14
Noble Bowled 1
Andy not out 5
Vinit not out 2
Jason dnb 
Extras  64
Total  219/8

It was a very close game in the end, but one I am very glad to have won. It has prepared us nicely for the first League game of the season on the 11th of this month and should put us in a relatively confident mood with some fine individual performances and great teamwork over the past 3 games. The Extras we gave away are a concern and we do need to be tighter in this department. We also need to again keep our focus, this time we lost our way in our batting after drinks and this caused a minor concern on the day.

So, our first victory for 2009 is under our belts but we now need to keep the momentum up and keep the winning way as habit. This victory also means the first leg of our series for the Golden Bat puts us in the driving seat to claim this trophy back.

A big thanks to Paddy Foleys who again showed us that a bit of fighting spirit means a lot on the cricket field - they yet again played well, in the spirit of cricket and were great competitors. On behalf of the club we wish them well for their 2009 campaign.

Regards

Andrew Marshall