Saturday’s game was another match that provides numerous talking points. So here are my thoughts on what happened during the course of battle.
The bowling overall was excellent, however we did give away a few too many wides. But having said that, the umpiring at times was particularly harsh. To limit a club 2nd/3rd XI to 167 was a brilliant effort, and Botany Bay were clearly rocked.
Particular mention must go to Mat Freeman who again bowled fast and tight to return sensational figures. Steve Shewring also made a great impression by using his pace and bounce to make at least 6 good wicket taking opportunities.
The big problem though was the batting. In retrospect, the order was probably to blame with too many inexperienced cricketers clustered towards the top of the innings. The incredible early collapse to leave the pinks at 12 for 5 would probably not have happened with a couple of steady batsmen in the opening 3. The real stupidity of the situation is that the inexperienced players are being exposed to the pick of the opposition bowlers. For the remainder of the season, the batting order must be carefully assembled to give the team the best possible chance.
Even putting the order to one side, there were other major problems overall with the batting. Namely certain players shot selection. To have two players stumped in a backs to the wall scenario is basically unacceptable. We must focus on selecting which balls to attack and which balls to defend. Run rate was never an issue in this contest, but being bowled out way short of the 40 overs severely limits the chances of winning. Patience and selection are the key.
Robsie was genuinely unlucky against a good bowler, but other top order batsmen will be looking back at losing their wicket with regret. Although it must be noted that the level of bowling was of a very high league standard.
In the end though, even after the early disaster we achieved a good level of respectability.
In summary, I think we can be proud yet slightly disappointed. Next Saturday’s match is now crucial and we must focus on doing everything we can to level the series at 1-1.