Colts vs UNSW - Round 9 - 2011/12 |
Sam Mart demonstrates maturity beyond his years with this report
After an aggressive yet watchful beginning the Stags were well poised for an imposing 300+ total going at an easy 7 runs per over. The disappointing end of Connor’s innings to a miscued pull shot brought the skipper to the crease. Without taking any time to get going, Elton ensured the run rate continued at an elevated rate as the pair looked in great touch compiling a decent partnership. It wasn’t before a ‘nothing’ shot from Andy poking at one outside the off stump brought end to an innings of 20 odd, disappointing end to a promising beginning. Carl at the other end stayed patient but the dispatching of the frequent bad ball to the fence continued the alacrity of the innings. Dom Thompson was looking solid out in the middle taking singles at will allowing Carl to hit the long ball more often. A subtle reduction in the run rate was nothing to worry about as the pair looked keen on setting solid foundations on which to build a gargantuan total. The half century for Carl placed him in line for a big individual effort but soon after he was on his way back to the pavilion having holed out to mid on; toeing one that hung in the swirling breeze, it took a great catch near the boundary to get rid of the dangerous opener for 57. This brought Iqbal Ahmed to the crease and his departure soon followed after being given out LBW, signaling the beginning to somewhat of a batting collapse. Dom was joined by Sam Mart, but lost his wicket caught behind soon after. The much underrated David ‘the Boff’ Leiboff joined Sam at the crease as the two looked to solidify a shaky few overs and ensure the momentum return to the Stags promptly. The two stuck around for a couple overs running well between the wickets and hitting one to the fence here and there until Sam played all round a straight one, to lose his leg bail. Ben ‘Simba/Lesbo’ Leighton joined Dave briefly after being caught behind the wicket attempting to leave the ball outside off. Then Adam ‘Alco’ Aarons arrived in the middle playing his shots for a couple runs but one just held up a bit in the deck and Alco holed out to cover. Fortunately for the reeling Stags, who had now moved from 2/117 to 8/137, the returning Dave ‘Mega’ Millar joined the in form Leiboff at the crease and the maturity and experience of the pair shone through, playing positively yet still being sensible. The two played some excellent strokes and combined for a much-needed partnership of 59 until Boff fell playing a lazy cut shot for 36. His individual cameo not a true reflection of the importance and match-saving effort from DL. Mega was joined by Greenies skipper Lachlan Borg who hung around for an over or two until being drawn into a big shot and was trapped LBW. Dave Millar finishing up with a 30 not, with the sundries being the second top scorer with 45. Opening the bowling DL was as he always is, bowling a consistently nagging line and length that asked numerous questions of the top order, he was rewarded in his second over with an LBW that swung back in and hit the UNSW skipper on the full. Soon after the lightning fast Alco cut off a certain boundary and in a daze after his somersaulting save returned a good through to Elton, who swiftly removed the bails. Lachy didn’t hit his lines as best as we all know that he can and was given a rest bringing back the predicted-to-be rusty Dave Millar. The two Dave’s tied up either end with the run rate drying up meaning the post drinks session was bound to draw false strokes. DL finished with impressive figures of 1-16 of his 10, probably unlucky not to have found the outside edge at least twice more. Icky came on and was not his usual consistent self, conceding a touch many runs. After Dave’s 10 straight overs Adam came on and bowled tight lines but no success after the two early breakthroughs. A few loose overs put UNSW back in with a sniff and things did not look certain on improving when skipper threw the ball to Simba whose mane was out of control and was soon unsure of his decision as his first 3 balls were all wides and the next two full tosses. Incongruously a shoulder height full toss returned a top edge and Icky took a good running catch at mid on. After his first over shocker, Simba bowled some fantastic rocks knocking over another 2 bats later in the day. Adam got some reward clean bowling their number five. After a small partnership the UNSW number 6; by far their most convincing bat was left for dead by his partner as he overran the bowlers end by 10 or so meters and after a misfield was asked to return to the keepers end, a swift and accurate throw from Mega and he was found well (3/4m) short. The required run rate then was constantly on ascent and the game got away from UNSW as Adam ended up with four wickets in fairly quick succession. The game was never truly in doubt for the boys from Chatswood but as we showed, constant fielding pressure and good line and lengths can turn around any situation. Credit to Lachy Borg who bowled an absolute ripper spell when things were getting uncomfortable and tied down all the UNSW batsmen with great pace and better yet unplayable areas. A solid performance and start to the New Year for the Stags. Sam Mart |
The Stags arrived early at David Phillips Oval looking to start the new year with a good performance; the small boundaries and hard deck making it evident to Captain Andy ‘Elton’ Coleman that we were going to bat. Predictably Elton won the toss…again and sure enough Carl Kinghorne and Connor Jackson were making their way out to the middle.
