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| v LT DINOS , 24TH AUGUST 2017 |
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DINOS REX-ED BY CLINICAL SUPERSTARS. |
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Superstars came into this fixture looking to defend an unbeaten record
which stretched back until 2008 against LT Dinos. With a sparsity of Dinos present for the start of the game, captain
Gigg graciously decided to forego the formality of losing the toss and allowed the opposition to bat first. |
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With the game on the vast open (and unmowed) plains of one of the bigger
pitches at Chiswick (dispatched to field at cow corner, your correspondent had to check his watch to be sure that he
hadn’t entered a different timezone), scoring was always going to be difficult. However, even allowing for this opening
bowlers Plahe (1-15) and Reeve (2-24) bowled well to keep it tight with the aid of some good fielding, and picked up
three quick wickets to leave the Dinos struggling. First change bowler Williams’ (0-21) figures suffered a little as
the Dinos' number 4 gathered momentum on his way to retirement, but Duggan (1-15) and Arun (1-16) picked up a wicket
each to keep a lid on things. Hewlett (0-9) and Anand (1-0) came on to bowl economically at the death, and a last ball
run out meant that the Dinos finished on a seemingly chaseable 103-8. |
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However, the impending gloaming, allied with the aforementioned amply-sized
boundaries and dense outfield meant that scoring quickly wasn’t really on the cards, and the Superstars run rate bobbed
around 5-an-over for much of the innings. Opener Goel (5) was unfortunate to be well-caught by the Dinos opening bowler
attempting to find the more moderately sized straight boundary, but Anand (28*) and Warren (25*) managed to steady the ship.
Vijay retired with the required rate stubbornly clinging to around 5-an-over, and when George joined him it was down to
Bishop (21*) and Plahe (12) to see Superstars home. A couple of well-timed boundaries from Gary eased the run rate concerns,
but when he fell caught behind, a late flurry of wickets with Hewlett (caught at cover for 0) and Williams (LBW for 2)
threatened a Devon Loch-like collapse at the finish. Thankfully, Bishop and Reeve (5*) combined in the darkness to see
Superstars home by 6 wickets with about an over to spare. |
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In the end, a comfortable victory built on the foundations of a good bowling
and fielding display. Batting in the dark in a late season game is not ideal (although provides a handy excuse for your
correspondent’s duck), but it certainly beats the next six months waiting for the cricket season to return. |
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Team hiding their heads in shame: Gigg (c), Goel, Anand, Warren, Bishop, Plahe,
Hewlett, Williams, Reeve, Duggan, Arun. |
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Author: James "End of Season Blues" Hewlett. |
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