The pitch at Eastons had been totally relaid over the winter period so it was always a gamble to bat first, but Captain Cuz bravely took the risk to set a positive tone. Part of the decision may also have been based on the fact that we had bowled Eastons out for 68 in the previous match and he obviously wanted to ensure a game that lasted the course.
A nervy start put Rosaneri in a poor position with wickets falling and runs being hard to come by.
However, Mat batting in the unfamiliar 3 spot got his head down and steadily accumulated runs while looking rock solid. Progress was slow though and at the 20 over mark Rosaneri were still under 40 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.
Once Ian came to the wicket though the run rate speeded up dramatically with Kurt and Cuz playing massive supporting roles. Ian went on to record a super 50 with a string of large 6's.
The opening bowlers returned before tea, but still runs were being added to the board at speed.
Tea time came and Rosaneri politely declared even though a slow over rate saw only 37 overs bowled.
The home side set about the run chase with vigour and a great start eventually ended with a good Marcus catch.
Incredibly naively or indeed sportingly Rosaneri bowled 21 overs back to the home team before the final 20 were called. This may have been academic, but 4 overs less for run chase calculations could have made a huge difference to the pressure on the batsmen and ultimately the result. We will never know for sure either way though !
Rosaneri fielded with heart, apart from when Shell jumped out of the way of one, but unfortunately the wickets were not falling with enough regularity.
The rain came down strongly towards the end, but Eastons got the job done with a bit to spare.
A good effort, but we were just not good enough on the day.