 2nd Grade in a good position
2nd grade arrived at North Sydney Oval #2 looking to regain its winning ways given a sub par performance the week before. Given the fact that North Sydney had chased down over 400 to beat Blacktown the previous week, it was never going to be an easy task. Upon inspection of the pitch, it once again seemed as if the wicket would favour the batsman and for most captains there would be an easy decision to make if the toss was won. Dowsley, however, was caught in two minds given the fact Adair would be up in first grade following week and an extra batsman, Gatts, would replace him. He went with his instincts and elected to bowl, a decision strongly supported by the old head Pic, but only because he had left his batting shoes at home.
Archer sends one down at North Sydney No. 2
Strangely enough, it turned out to the best cricketing decision Nick "Dowse" Dowsley has made in his career, with Adair rewarding his captain with 7 wickets and a run out. He bowled three beautiful spells of swing bowling, getting the ball to go both ways and the North Sydney batsmen just couldn’t get bat on ball. Chris "Archie" Archer also bowled well and a controlled spell of spin bowling saw him take the crucial wicket of the opener just as the top order started to look threatening. Nick "Medders" Medcalf chipped in with the final wicket whilst Sweeney and Dowsley toiled hard without reward, all three bowling economically. North Sydney were all out for 246 with 25 overs left in the day.
After an extended break due to lightning, during which we had to put up with plenty of Medders’ sick jokes and annoying sarcasm, our batsmen took the field in fairly poor light. Pic went early (obviously something to do with those batting shoes left at home) but Ritchie and Garratt batted extremely well to finish on 38* and 39* respectively. Both showed the patience and maturity that was missing from the batting performance last week. In a strong position at 1/82, it should hopefully be a comfortable run chase, given the depth and strength of the batting line up next week.
Will Sweeney |
