12 mei 2012

Zamis vs VRA Zami-2
VRA Zami-2:    215 all out (Albart Barents 2 for 33)
R+W Zami:    159 for 6 (Jeremy Crowlesmith 63, Seb Capel 25)
Brilliant sunshine bathed the postage stamp for the first match of the season, but the temperature was more winter than summer. Still for a first match of the season the conditions weren't bad at all. And we had got  eleven players together without too much difficulty. The field was set out, it was agreed with the opposition that we should field first, and Bob opened the season with a ball right on the spot. In fact all the first bowlers – Bob, Sebab, Tricky, and Beef – gave the lie to the need for pre-season training. “Only the non-talented need to train” apparently. Thanks for the tip lads. Mind you, catching is a different matter – if you drop a guy 5 times, don't complain when he top-scores with 70. This being the Zamis, nobody complained. Wickets were spread around the bowlers: nine bowlers were used and eight of them took a wicket. We managed to bowl VRA all out in 34 overs. The umpires were tight on wides for early season, but then they set the standard and we just lost that count, 28 wides vs 27. A few loose overs in the 2nd half of the innings, but overall not too bad – okay 215 was going to be a tough target, but maybe they would eat too much tea to field effectively. This cunning plan might have been successful, certainly the tea was an improvement on previous season’s fare. Pity the hot panninis didn’t arrive until many had already had their fill.
Jeremy and Seb opened and made an excellent start. While being solid and risk-less they still scored at 5-an-over with the 50 partnership coming up in the 10th over. And they kept going, but VRA switched their bowlers around and scoring became more difficult. They deserved to make a 100 partnership, but with the total on 97 Seb was deceived and bowled trying to push on. Jeremy was playing a great innings for a season’s first knock, but got caught up in the disaster of 151. This was total when the attempt to push up the scoring rate blew the innings apart. We lost 3 wickets with the total at 151, including Jeremy for 63, victim of one those farcical “shall we, shan’t we, no, yes why not...  ..shit” run-outs. All that was left was (1) to play out the final overs and end on 159 for 6, and (2) have a few beers and snacks in the evening sunshine.
Tim