On a hot afternoon, the 1s travelled to valley parkway where we have always under achieved.
The toss was won by Waq who inserted the home team in.
Daud and Macca pairing was in fine form and they both found their lengths early. Daud got the first couple of strikes and Mcneil then chipped in with a couple along with an excellent run out to leave Woeley reeling at 50-5.
A partnership started to form between the next two batters who played carefully, putting the bad ball away at every given opportunity and being sensible against what is now a quality opening bowling partnership. Sayed Snr broke the partnership and then struck with another couple to leave Woeley hill 8 down for 115. Jakeman bowled with pace and control (for the most part) and got a wicket while Brendan came on and knocked over number eleven after 8 balls. The target was 134 and with tea not ready, we were asked to bat for 45 minutes, which in my experience chasing a low score always proves a tricky proposition.
No such cause for concern today though as the opening pairing of Carty and Copson took the score past 40 off the 8 overs they faced. Carty being particularly severe on the opening bowlers Donovan and Graham. He pulled, cut and drove with authority and had scored majority of the runs while Copson was more circumspect and was playing himself in.
After a filling tea (ice poles were a winner), Carty continued where he left off while Copson started to find the middle of the bat, playing his attractive, aggressive brand of cricket. With the score on 71 and with both players threatening a 10 wicket win, Copson edged on to the keeper off Brookes, their best bowler, and was out for 19.
Sam who has been batting and bowling well of late was promoted to number 3 and he took up where Copson had left off. Sam played sensibly, rotated the strike while Carty was continuing to dish out punishment to the opposition. The score had reached 115 before he tried to hit a long hop into next year and top edged to short fine for a well made 59.
DJ joined Sam, who was now knocking the ball into gaps and with a lightning outfield, getting the just reward his shots deserved. He scored a brisk 31* and DJ 7* to see us home in 27 overs.
A solid chase and a well deserved 20 points.
Just a couple of points from me:
We must stay together in the field at all times and not be disheartened by a partnership or two. Pressure tests character and that is our opportunity to show how good we really are.
Secondly, we need to cut out on the wides because without them, the opposition today would not have passed 100.
Finally, use our cricket knowledge in the field and adjust ourselves accordingly by a couple of metres if need be to give our team the best chance of getting a wicket through a catch or a run out.
It has been a pleasure leading you boys out there every week and the effort and commitment shown by all is unparalleled in the league.
See you all next week.
Waq
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