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18/06/2007
Rosaneri fall short again!
Rosaneri found themselves still searching for that elusive first win today after a six wicket defeat at the hands of a tidy Jack of Diamonds outfit.
Once again the pinks punched below their weight and rolled over perhaps a bit too easily but there were still plenty of positives to be taken from an enjoyable day out in Hemel Hempstead. Things went badly from the start after the toss was lost and the opposition put the Rossers in to bat on what can only be described as a bizarre ground where the outfield was akin to the heavy rough at Carnoustie!
This was particulary evident when in the opening over Shell blasted a huge shot towards the boundary and then posed for the photographers only to find that the ball stopped a few yards short of the boundary and by the time the penny had finally dropped it had turned into a quick single! (In an amusing twist exactly the same thing happened to Jack of Diamonds opener!)
Tony Trucker was not able to build on his impressive knock against the teachers but Shell and Stephen Underwood steadied the ship and built a solid partnership of over forty runs which should have laid a good foundation for a decent target. Shell was eventually replaced by Andy Underwood after he was caught on 31 - an excellent score which would have been more like a 50 if the outfield was not so heavy. The brothers looked like they were settling in for another good partnership when Stephen was caught on 25, another very respectable score on this ground. The scorebook was ticking over nicely at this stage and things looked promising for the pinks. Then came our most disasterous collapse to date.
The remaining 8 batsmen posted a total of 4 runs between them as the Rosaneri batting frailties were once again exposed. Pre-match concerns about the length of the tail proved well founded as 5 ducks were posted - as it transpired the tail was comparable in length to that of a snake which starts just about where the head ends! Sindrey momentarily looked like he might hang around long enough to give Andy some much needed company but he was soon skittled by a ball that swung viciously.
And there it was - a lowly 86 runs required.
A fine tea pepped up the spirits and Rosaneri returned to the field with a positive attitude - 86 was obviously not a great target but the heavy outfield did add extra yards to the boundaries and a victory was still not out of the question.
The Rosaneri got off to a flying start with the ball - Mat was tight as was Marcus and two maidens were just the ticket to get things underway. Mat continued to probe in his second over and then the first breakthrough came - a sharp delivery caused the Jack of Diamonds opener all sorts of problems and and a shout of LBW echoed around the ground - however it wasn't clear if it hit bat or pad - no matter - the ball looped towards second slip and Nick dived to his right and caught the ball in his outstretched right hand. The umpire raised the finger and the match was on. Mat continued his impressive spell by removing the off stump of the replacement batsman several balls later and you could sense that there was an air of panic in the pavillion. Marcus was not to be outdone and he soon forced an error that led to some quick thinking and a sharp catch from Andy behind the stumps.
The momentum was well and truly with the Rosaneri as Jack of Diamonds were now three wickets down and were still yet to post a run! The next batsman managed to hang around for a while and several more overs were ticked off with very little return from Jack of Diamonds. Marcus' third over started to look ragged but he had learned from his previous matches and he pulled things together to see out a tremendous spell of seven overs for 22 runs including 2 maidens. Mat's bowling was tighter than the arse of one of the Rosaneri ducks but he brought himself off after 5 to give Sindrey a spell. It soon paid dividends - Paul swung a pacey ball across the right hander who prodded and edged. At that pace it looked far too wide to reach but Nick sprang like a jack rabbit to his right and at full stretch caught the ball between three fingers of his right hand - Paul Collingwood would have been proud. The Rossers were back on track and the game was well within reach. However, it soon became evident that the next wicket was not going to fall easily as the batsmen at the crease were starting to display a combination of technical ability and raw power much like the partnership that saw out the match against the teachers. The pendulum began to swing towards Jack of Diamonds.
The run rate picked up as the boundary rope was compromised with growing regularity which, on this ground, was testament to some big hitting. Coxy was again superb in the field but produced some Jekyl and Hyde bowling - a maiden with his first over followed by a 10 ball over in which he struggled with his release. However, he is not the first Rosaneri bowler to experience this as Nick and Marcus can testify and he will undoubtedly bounce back.
Graham Sparrey was handed the ball and was as dependable as ever. He stemmed the flow of runs almost forcing a wicket with an edge but it did not quite carry to the slips. Steve Williams also bowled well despite his ankle injury although a few too many down the leg side exposed a short boundary towards the end. The next wicket did not really look like it would ever come and Jack of Diamonds cruised to victory with a series of boundaries and 13 overs to spare.
There were postives to be taken - the fielding performance was excellent throughout but the target was just not enough of a challenge for the more than compentent batsmen of Jack of Diamonds - if thirty more runs had been posted by Rosaneri it may well have been a different game as there may have been the opportunity to get into the tail of Jack of Diamonds and who knows what would have happened.
Work obviously needs to be done on the batting but the fielding and bowling continues to improve.
By
Nick Shewring
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