Match Report
Tuesday 10 August -v- Blue Star at Weigal Road (RAY WILLIS TROPHY S-F)
On a day when we put out just about the strongest RW side we could hope to field, there were few complaints, as we were beaten with consummate ease by a side that totally dominated play from first delivery to last. That said we by no means disgraced ourselves, although the problems that plague our game again reared their heads. Our ground fielding was slapdash and catches that should be made, almost as second nature were spurned. Blue Star won the toss and elected to bat. They set out their stool early on, aiming to make runs from anything they could, regardless of the merit of the delivery; Silver Fox and Lardy both suffered the indignity of seeing perfectly reasonable balls despatched high into the outfield, eluding fielders. Aside from that neither can claim to have bowled well on the day and that could be said of all our bowlers. Although the rate of scoring was stemmed to a degree, we never really recovered from the shock of finding ourselves forty rums to the bad from the first three overs. Blue Star continued to score at a steady rate and with wickets in hand were able to throw the bat towards the end, to finish on 163-3.
A determined attempt was led by Softy and Darkie and for a time my belief in miracles was kept intact. Our challenge depended almost entirely on these two maintaining a high scoring rate, whilst not throwing their wicket. With the descending gloom making it difficult for batsmen and fielders alike, none of the watching Crusaders really fancied the task. Darkie finally fell to a mistimed pull shot and our decline from there on was rapid. None of the remaining players managed to reach double figures as we slid to an unflattering 104 all out. Timmo top-score with a valiant 44, but the damage from our earlier fielding proved irreparable.
Spirits were somewhat muted as we tasted defeat for only the third time since our entry into the competition, but maybe it will act as the catalyst for a return to the standards of play that made us most difficult to beat.
