1st Grade Report vs Manly - Round 10 - Day 2 |
After a fiery encounter on Day One between the two teams the Stags were looking to consolidate after a positive performance in the first innings. With the two captains taken aside by the umpires before the start of play, both teams were reminded about the 'spirit of cricket' and the boundaries that were crossed the previous week. Although we had to be careful about what was to be said, the intensity and passion that we displayed on the first day could not be lost. Dylan Connell, Kennedy's soft target The first hour of everyday is critical, however on this occasion it determined who would gain the outright win. Although after addressing the way we bowled in the first hour of play last week, the bowlers could not execute their plans and failed with their line and length again. Combining this with some aggressive batting Manly put on 70 within the first hour. However to the bowlers' credit they came back really well and after collecting the first wicket of the day they went on to collect the remainder of wickets rather quickly before lunch to set up a chase. With James 'Tos' Kennedy and Dylan 'RAW!' Connell collecting five and three wickets respectively, each of the pace bowlers contributed well throughout the match. The lunch break saw Dylan Connell bringing out his 'playing cards' to calm the batters before they went out to chase the 180 needed for an outright win. I know there is a trend developing with my reports in which Dylan becomes my bunny, but other then Reece 'Casanova' Bombas giving love advice to Iain 'the Gnome' Beverley little is said or produced within the change rooms these days. So with Casanova giving his love song dedications and Dylan displaying his prized possessions the opening bats were ready to take the journey their and back again. At the time l wasn't so sarcastic with the score being 3 for 3. With wickets continually falling and no partnerships really developing the Stags were embarrassingly dismissed for 70 runs in the second innings. This week's performance was passionless and lacking discipline which has been the story of the season so far. Although it continuously gets mentioned that we are a young side developing, the majority of this team has been playing cricket for Gordon for many seasons and by now should know how much their wicket is worth to their team mates and their club. Sitting at 14th position on the ladder the 1st graders have a lot of work to do to achieve our goal of a top 10 finish. However with a strong performance against Northern Districts this weekend we can gain some valuable points to our cause. Off field in the coming weeks the Gnome will put Casanova's advice into action as he searches for a date, Blair 'Buffy' Lindsay will need a blood transfusion and Steve 'Baby Bash' Colley will give a tutorial on how to shave your legs to become a professional cricketer. We'll take on the Districts, Waitara way!!! James Kennedy |
An outright loss after being in a promising position
