Gordon played UNSW at Chatswood in the quarter-finals of the Limited-Overs Cup on Sunday. UNSW won the toss and batted on a good pitch. Tym Crawford took two early wickets but their BBL opening bat, Matthew Gilkes, was hitting them well and the score began to mount. He and Joe Byrnes (no, not the Queenslander) shared an excellent partnership in good time and the next wicket didn’t fall until the score had reached 198 – a partnership of 154.
Plenty of overs left. Scott O’Brien was the wicket taker and he proceeded to cut a swathe through the middle order. The last eight wickets fell for only 39 runs! A massive collapse, with Charlie Stobo and Matt Junk also chipping in.
So, a total of 237 was certainly achievable for Gordon and Cam Eccles and Axel Cahlin set about the task of chasing it down in great fashion. Cam was in brilliant touch while Axel pushed the ball around very sensibly. They added 74 in about 10 overs and it was all going very smoothly. Cam was out for a dashing 51 off only 37 balls, but even when Steve Colley fell with the score at 99, things were well under control. Harry Evans joined Axel and they took the score to 131 and it was plain sailing.
Or not…
Collapses aren’t uncommon in cricket. Six wickets for seven runs is a tad unusual. The Stags moved from 2-131 to 8-138 in no time at all. From a winning position to catastrophe!
Glenn Winsor and Charlie Stobo came together but unfortunately, it appeared a bridge too far. Another 100 runs! They chipped away at the total – there were plenty of overs left – but… unlikely.
But, they kept batting, running between the wickets very well and not taking any risks. Maybe they’ll get close…
And get close they did. The score continued to rise with the two batsmen taking very few risks. Suddenly, an unlikely win was a possibility. Glenn hit the ball beautifully while Charlie found the gaps and showed his experience to keep things calm and organised. All of a sudden, with absolutely no fuss, there were about 30 needed from five overs. Ones and twos (and one good over) took it to 19 off three. A few more great shots and it was two overs and one ball to score 7.
But fairytales always have a twist. Glenn gets out. His 60 from 61 balls was an absolute gem, an innings of immense maturity and common sense.
So, two overs left. Charlie goes down the wicket to the new batsman, Matt Junk, to confer. “Sensible. We’ll get them in ones and twos.” Sage advice.
First ball of the penultimate over, Charlie, from around off stump plays a RAMP SHOT down to a vacant fine leg. For four!! Lucky he hadn’t listened to his own advice.
A single and Matt is on strike. A block, and then a perfectly controlled off glance for two (it went for four but the rules, sorry LAWS of cricket are silly) and Gordon had pulled off a magnificent win!
A wonderful afternoon’s entertainment (a great group of ex-players on the hill to cheer them on) and the promise of more next Sunday in the semi-final.
Brilliant!
Gordon 9-238 (Glenn Winsor 60, Cam Eccles 51, Axel Cahlin 46, Charlie Stobo 39*) defeated UNSW 237 (Scott O’Brien 4-42, Tym Crawford 2-28, Charlie Stobo 2-38, Matt Junk 1-38).