Sat 17th Dec.  Vs  LSW, Mission Rd

LSW 7 / 243 , C.McGann 10-2-37, M,Naqvi 8-2-36

Kai Tak 9 / 206 , M.Poole 51, M.Naqvi 40, D.Ellis 30

Maybe it was the decision to have the X,mas dinner on the Thurs night instead of last night but we all must have been suffering the 2nd day hangover!!! Not a good day for the Tak again and not how we wanted to finish the year. In all fairness, LSW are a very strong team with some very talented players. They got off to a bit of a flyer and was good to hear that Fidel has learnt a few swear words in his Japanese lessons as they were needed, Fidel losing his way in the latest of games. Once again we have come to rely on Mohsin and he didnt dissapoint, bowling tight and varying his pace had the batsmen really having to work for it!!! We had the at 1-110 at the drinks break and something definitely had to change if we were to chase a reasonable total. In came Carl McGann, in his 2nd game for the Tak, following up from his Hit Wicket out tot he Butt a couple of games ago, showed his skill with the ball and really bowled a lovely line and length to restrict to batsmen. Who apparantly cant do anything but hit on the on side. Early on we were holding on to everything, especially Mohsin with a great catch in the deep. Ellis realising the weakness in their ability to hit the slower bowling brought on Mat "My wife has HUGE knockers" Poole who also held them back for a bit. Take note bowlers, it was a great lesson by these two on how to bowl. A few wickets and we really were pegging them back quite a bit, depth is not a strong thing with these teams. Unfortunately for the TAK, the old catch wobbles caught up with us and a couple went begging and to rub it in, they were dropping them to the boundary for 4s and 6s...not good!! Nick Hawke made a usefull comeback, in terms of line and length, unfortunately for him, it was at a time they were on the hit and all the drop catches were off him so unlucky Nick!!So even though we fought well at the end, we let them get away with an extra 30 runs that i think they shouldnt have got. All in all though, with the likes of Munir Dar, we did a great job to restrict them to 243.

So to the batting. We used to back ourselves to make 250. Both yours truly and Mal Brown after hitting 4s and teasing our teammates, we both fell cheaply to a guy swinging the ball a country mile...well thats what i thought anyway!!! Dave Elliot, suffering from a blow to his finger when he dropped one on the boundary, came in and settled in very well. He got off to a flyer but also fell to the swing king. Capt Ellis came in and if ever we needed a Captains knock this was it.  He and Mohs had a great partnership and really bought us back in the game with some real sensible hitting. The fairytale came to an end though with Ellis out caught for 30. In came big Poodle, and although i have talked about his missus quite a bit lately, this time he let his bat do the talking, taking it to the bowling with some very big hits scoring 51 in a very short time. With the run rate req'd blowing out a bit it was time for action...and Mohsin went out! Then Fidel. Carl McGannn who i will bet wont be able to get out of bed tomorrow as he hasnt bowled for 8 years...came in and also had some fun with the bat, scoring a quick fire 20. Thankfully Johnny Gordon and George Edmunds saw us above the 200 mark so as to assure the extra bonus point.

So not the way we wanted to finish the year, but against an opponent like LSW we didnt shame oursleves. Great bowling effort to restrict them but again our batting missfired, something that really needs to come good in the new year!!!! We are playing ok but are missing that full team effort that we had last season. It tookk time last year and we came good in the 2nd half of the season, so lets get on with it in the new year and finish strong. So as i listen to Bing Crosby singing white Christmas i  and Bobbi, and Sanja of course, wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Man of the Match: Mat Poole. (sorry Mohs but am sick of giving it to you!!)