Bears,
The Bears commenced 2017 in sweltering conditions yesterday
as we took on one of our favourites, Trim (and his mob).
Spooner may have lost the toss, but we got what we wanted
and found ourselves in the field. A bit of a pre-match banter between the two
teams had Trim’s Mob thinking that Boom wasn’t going to take to the bowling
crease. Imagine their surprise when he took the ball in the 2nd
over! Sha’neo was on at the other end and they both got us off to a tidy start.
Boom, who was bowling til he dropped, chipped in with a couple of wickets
before he did drop. Well, his knee gave way and his spell was done. We’d later
find out that the curse was at play… Boom had 2/22 off his 6!!!
Azz and GT were next into the account and whilst there no 22
curse at play, Azz certainly had done something to annoy the cricketing gods as
he had a number of near misses in his spell and his figures certainly didn’t
reflect his performance. At the other end, GT struggled for his line early and
after some heated discussion with the umpire over the definition of a wide, he
bowled wider and wider. When he got it on the stumps, he was near unplayable.
His spell of 2/19 only contained 5 runs off the bat. Oh, his ‘worst’ over – his
10 ball finale, was the 22nd over of the innings.
Love Muscle was introduced immediately after the drinks
break and produced an extremely tidy spell. His figures of 2/17 could have been
even better if the skipper could catch… TWICE… The only blemish in Love Muscle’s
spell was a John Howard-esque delivery. Spooner had replaced GT and benefited
from GT’s argument with the umpire as a couple of horrendous legside deliveries
were called fair. Radico came on for Spooner and got a couple of wickets to
keep the runs down towards the end of the end. While Marty, who had produce a
handy run out earlier in the innings, was unlucky not to grab a wicket as well
in his 2 overs at the death.
In the end, Trim’s Mob had made 9/176 and the mistakes usually
associated with Trim were more associated with the Bears this time around.
Pope and Azz opened up for the Bears and whilst there was
some concern on the sidelines about the run rate, the key was that both of them
were remaining at the crease. The run rate was helped by a 5 run bonus after a
throw collected the helmet that was on the ground. Pope lifted the tempo a bit
before drinks and we went into the break at 0/56 – a run a ball after drinks
would tie the match.
It was around this time attention also turned to the cop on
his bike who had pulled over a vehicle and seemed to be giving ticket after
ticket – much speculation took place on the sidelines. This was the second
major discussion point on the sidelines following the lengthy debate over what
punishment Gribbs should face for not ensuring the BBQ changed hands before he
went away….
After drinks, Pope’s attempt to up the run rate was brought
undone in the 22nd over. Pope falling for a well-made 34, edging him
closer to the 1,000 run mark for the club. Radico joined Azz and immediately
boosted the run-rate with a couple of sixes. Having registered his maiden 50
for the club in his last match, Azz immediately returned to 50-avoidance form
and fell for 38. One guess as to what Radico was on at the other end when that
wicket fell!
Drady, who was playing the role of Chris Lynn in this game,
came in and looked to get the required run rate down further. Radico was
dismissed shortly after for 41 – he now only needs another 42 runs for the
season to break his own record for most runs scored in a season. Pending
fatherhood seems to be the only thing that could get in his way!
GT came and went, while Kyle brought up his first duck for
the club in style – being caught on the boundary! Drady fell for a run ball 17.
When G-man was dismissed for a quick fire 7, the equation was 13 runs off 3
overs with 3 wickets in hand.
A Spooner boundary was shortly followed by Love Muscle’s
dismissal. Love Muscle falling victim to the curse – being dismissed on his 22nd
ball. Sha’neo, who had been somewhat reluctant to bat, joined Spooner in the
middle with the equation being 6 off 9. Sha’neo made it look easy with a
straight drive for 2, immediately followed by a pull for 4 off a no ball to
give the Bears a narrow 2 wicket victory.
Also – thanks to DB, who not only came down to support the
Bears, but also spent 10-15 overs in the field while Kyle rested his knee.
Well done Bears, a great way to start off 2017 especially
given that the curse tried to have its way!
Spooner