The forum has been alive with chat about us being more competitive, and boy did we raise the bar in this game. Ok, our batting ultimately let us down, but Church Langley certainly knew they had been in a contest.
The home side won the toss and they confidently elected to bat. A dangerous attacking opening batsman was dismissed by Stephen Underwood early on and Rosaneri had clearly established control. A slow and steady partnership followed as Church Langley occupied the crease but the scoreboard was on a go slow.
Runs came slowly and reasonably surely, but the Rosaneri bowlers were keeping a lid on the run rate. Church Langley actually reached 70 before the second wicket fell, but once the 2nd wicket went the rest fell like a pack of cards.
The Rosaneri bowlers were absolutely on top of their games, and the Captain was literally spoilt for choice. Eventually the home team were dismissed for 110 and the Rosaneri bowlers and fielders had performed as a unit to establish total control.
The jubilation was slightly marred with the loss of Gbell to a nasty looking hand injury following a rapid ball from an enraged Gunther.
Bell’s injury meant Rosaneri had to bat with 10 effectively and the batting order had a slightly unsettled look to it.
Mike Freeman batted in perfect openers fashion and dropped anchor to provide the pinks with a rock to build on. Wickets came and went, but Big Mike managed to hang around for an amazing 27 overs on a beast of a batting pitch. He eventually departed for a brilliant 25.
Nobody else really got in, and some big names departed without making any progress towards the chase total. One batsman who does deserve particular mention is Tony, who got his head down and showed real determination to hang around and add valuable runs.
At 70 odd for 6 the pinks had real hope, but some good home bowling and some rash shots soon combined to bring a rapid close to the Rosaneri innings.
It was another defeat, but the manner of defeat was very encouraging. The bowling was probably the best we have ever seen as a club and would help us to compete against any club that we have ever played against.
The batting wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst we have ever seen against a very competitive and spirited opposition.
This was a step in the right direction, and let’s hope that we can now finish the season in style.