Match Report
Ten man Crusaders were forced to dig deep to preserve a long unbeaten 20/20 record, scraping home by 4 runs in the final over.
Spud rang the changes at the top of the order, preferring Mr. Taylor and 'the illegal' to the tried and tested partnership of Singhs N & J. Almost immediately he regretted the decision, with Mike looking as fluent as a treacle pudding. After Mike had run Chand out (the only worthwhile thing he did with the bat) Simon played with calm assurance for an unbeaten 27. This formed the bedrock to a rather shaky innings, with Slapdash, Dave and Johnny Walker all succumbing cheaply. Late flurries from Gord and Nita ensured our total crept into three figures, with Spud and the returning Goulash scrambling a bizarre three off the final ball to take the score to 106-8.
Mike opened with a maiden and then saw his second over treated with the sort of respect it deserved. After three overs Meantime had raced to 19 and we were staring down the barrel. Chand, who had provided the match ball, suddenly found some expansive turn, taking three wickets in an over and the tide had turned. Spud came into the attack and immediately removed the dangerous opener, caught in TC's jumper and Manjit was the beneficiary of a tremendous catch at long on from Gord. Meantime were still scoring at a rate and were prepared to play their shots, but regular wickets prevented complete freedom. The strange decision to award two runs for a wide/no ball and no extra ball caused some controversy, with Dave bringing some of his unsavoury football behaviour on to the field of play in a dispute over a wide. Mike, with two wickets and Chand, slipped in three tight overs and we had gained the upper hand again, with The Brewery needing 9 off the last Simon Burr over; still plenty of Cricket then!!!
Simon kept his cool and following five runs off the first three balls, he managed to execute a run out off the fourth to finish the game, with Meantime so close and yet so far on 102.
