Cricket Club enjoys successful first games post-lockdown
The first home game of the season for Southwater Cricket Club is always a special occasion, and this year was no different; even if the game itself took on quite a unique format! Whilst the season typically starts in late April/ early May, the COVID restrictions meant that the first game could only be held on July 11th. An internal game was planned for the big occasion.
The adults First XI took on the Second XI in the first game of the day, followed by the clash of the titans as the young Third XI took on the highly skilled, yet rather rusty Sunday XI. The games were limited to 20 overs, with “sanitising breaks” held every six overs to clean the ball. Other rule changes included restrictions on ‘shining the ball’, a process that usually involves a healthy dose of sweat to help the bowler swing the ball. The Second XI were the first to bat, and were able to quickly put runs on the board. A strong start from Johnny Mills, Nick Baker and Greg Young helped the team to post a very respectable score of 151/4 after 20 overs.
The First XI bowling performance can be summarised as solid without being inspiring on the whole, however youngster Ben Ong proved why he is seen as the future of the club with a great spell of Spin, with the key wicket of opener Nick Baker. A few of the players had clearly not been practicing their fielding over the lockdown period, with club captain Alex Harding uncharacteristically pulling out of a catching opportunity early in the game. 13 Despite the high target of chasing 152 runs for the win, the First XI looked comfortable in their run chase. An unbeaten knock of 50* from Alex Harding and 40* from star batsman Johann Brouwer set up the team for a well deserved victory, chasing down the total with 5 balls to spare.
The second game of the afternoon was the hotly anticipated Third XI vs Sunday XI. Third team captain Will Poston won the toss, and elected to bat first, which would later be shown to be a great call from an experienced captain. However, it was the Sunday team who struck first. Sunday player Luke Thorpe bowled the dangerous Poston out for a Golden Duck, leaving the Third XI with a mountain to climb. The later wicket of big hitter Darren James had tipped the scales fully in the favour of the Sunday XI, who were confident of their chances to win.
The Third XI were able to post a respectable 128 thanks to a 50+ partnership from young stars Riley James and Connor Brown. Sunday XI captain Sam Cooper was able to claim the late wicket of Ross Lawton, a young batsman known for posting big scores towards the end of innings. The strong Sunday XI batting lineup were never able to get going in their response. Precise bowling from the Third team restricted the experienced batters Graham Whiting and Sam Lillywhite to a slow start, and the late batting fireworks promised by the captain Cooper were slow to materialise.
On a day like this, the results were of little importance. The relief to be back playing cricket, albeit in an adapted manner, was shared by all. The club are experimenting with video highlights of games, to help the spectators to watch the game if they are unable to watch in person.