Despite the B-division team being narrowly defeated at the hands of Fortune CC on Saturday, there were plenty of signs of improvement for Southerners.
Fortune batted first and scored 138 with at least half their runs coming in the second wicket partnership. The Southerners bowled well, particularly Abhijit and Nadeem, but the team probably lost the game with the number of dropped catches. Catches dropped must have outnumbered those taken by 2 to 1.
The batting was very good and we got our highest score since the first game of the season. The top order was held together very well by Giles with 31. Graeme and Andy managed to stay with Giles for a couple of handy 30-run partnerships. Gordon starred at the end with the tail and finished with 29 not out. Shanky and Vicky played a good shot or two towards the end. It came down to the last over with Gordon’s hitting slightly spooking Fortune as they tried to get him off strike as he was batting with Lek, but we finished 10 runs short in the end.
Overall an encouraging performance. The signs were there that there is some useful batting in the team to go with the good bowling. If we can get the catching right next time we play Fortune, the odds are that we will win.
Fortune 138 (Abhijit 4-23, Vicky 1-10, Nadeem 1-15, Andy 1-14)
Southerners 128 (Giles 31, Gordon 29 n.o.)
Words: Andy ‘Chicken’ Leicester