The weather was very hot and humid. The outfield looked more like a Pinjarra paddock during mid Feb. The only real green being the immediate surrounds of the wicket and the weeds growing in the outfield. The pitch looked like a road with virtually no grass and very flat.
Pinjarra were very happy to bat first. Ford was on his third duck and was extremely relieved to get off the mark very first ball. Davidson was also relieved since he didn’t face a ball at all last match. Spin was on from the second over. The team’s main objective was to bat the full 30 overs, and this was beginning to look achievable with the score reaching 11 during the 6th over without loss. However, Davidson played and missed and saw his off stump knocked back.
This brought Narayana to the crease who looked very comfortable in these conditions. He put on a partnership of 31 with Ford, with several elegant boundaries, before he skied one to Nitin at deep mid wicket from off spinner Viswanath.
Miller came to the wicket, this time wearing a helmet, even though spinners were on from both ends. Ford and Miller managed to get away a few boundaries, including one six each, and the score moved to 91 before Ford swung and missed in the 23rd over and was given out stumped for a well made 42 off 69 balls. The heat was starting to take its toll on Miller, who started looking shaky, with a missed stumping opportunity, then surviving a confident appeal for bat pad, and another for stumped.
Miller and Pack put on a brisk 16, with Pack holing out to spinner Srinivasan for 9, which included one impressive 6. Miller then called new batsmen Liddelow through for a quick single and he was run out by several yards without facing a ball. 5 for 107 in the 26th.
The brought Riley to the crease and the score progress quickly to 128 before Miller tried to cut one from a good line, only to see the top spinner knock into his middlel stump. 6 for 128. This brought Shane Turner to the crease with only 2 overs left and he and Riley pushed the score to 136 when Riley was caught on the last ball of the innings for 11. Turner not out 5 and the boys had at last batted out their overs to put together a reasonable total to defend.
Out of the 30 overs, only 6 were medium pace and the rest were spin bowling.
Hennessy and McKay opened the bowling and were immediately finding the edge. One flew hard to Pack at 2nd slip off McKay, hitting him in the shoulder having not been seen at all by him. And Ford almost took the catch off the tour with an outstretched left hand at gully, but unfortunately it spilled out has he hit the ground. His whites now covered in wet clay.
But Hennessy soon had opener Rao caught by Pack at second slip. And then next over bowled the number 3 Sekar for a duck. Srinivasan was then taken at 1st slip by Narayana off Hennessy with a regulation catch and all of a sudden the hosts were 3 for 37 off 5 overs and looking a little shaky.
Opener Baskar looked threatening and the medium pace of McKay, Liddelow and Ford showed just how flat the wicket was. Baskar enjoyed some impressive hitting. He did give a chance, off unlucky McKay, but unfortunately Riley at mid wicket could not hang on to it. We went on to make 55 off only 31 balls, with 7 fours and 3 sixes. Liddelow eventually had him when he snicked one down the leg side and keeper Miller held on to it with his left glove.
The hosts now 4 for 81 in the 11th over. The next batsmen Kanniah was the General Manager of the Southern Railways Corporation, and seemed intent on occupying the crease. The run rate slowed and Liddelow and Ford were happy to be bowling to some very defensive batting. However, at the other end, Anand eventually took to the bowling and retired for 31 off 25 balls. Meanwhile spinner Pack was introduced and despite his errant first ball which bounced several times, he claimed the wicket of the General Manager, caught behind for 6 off 22 balls.
But the conditions were very oppressive and offered no assistance at all for the bowlers. The heat and the humidity and the very flat wicket meaning that Railways cruised to victory with little trouble in the end, left hander Ashwin hitting the winning runs with a large six over midwicket.
Hennessy was the best of the bowlers 4-0-19-3. McKay 4-0-37-0 bowled without luck. Liddelow 4-0-40-1, Ford 4-0-22-0, Pack 2.1-0-11-1, D Turner 2-0-8-0.
This was a tough ask for the Pinjarra boys, their 4th game in 5 days and in sweltering conditions on a dry deck offering nothing for the bowlers. In the end they were reasonably pleased to have set a reasonable target, but now look forward to some rest.
The next match being on Tuesday and this will be played on matting against a college team. None of the team except Narayana have ever seen a matting wicket, so this will be yet another learning experience.
Railways 5 for 141 defeated Pinjarra 7 for 136.
No comments:
Post a Comment