Kai Tak 2 / 263 A

Once again great availability ensured we would be fielding a very strong side and it was essential that a good performance was shown to get this season back on the rails.

Kai Tak managed to win the toss and duly elected to bat first. The standard team talk followed reminding players of individual responsibility whilst batting and the roles each player needed to play to construct a good innings. Everybody coming out swinging as we did against Lamma was certainly not the way to go, and that habit had to stop if we were to compete properly this league season.

So Jeremy Doubleday(bosher) and Adam Gunthorpe( bat the entire innings) were given the honour of opening. A very cautious and scratchy start gave Kai Tak an early platform of 42 runs off the first 10 overs and very noticeable was the role reversal that took place. Doubleday couldn't get the ball away and so handed that responsibility to Gunthorpe who recovering his timing, began to smash deliveries at will to all parts of the ground. 42 off 10 overs to 122 off 17 overs at drinks was superb batting. It just goes to show that playing sensibly and getting your eye in seeing off the decent bowlers pays off, pretty basic cricket really.

After drinks the carnage continued until Doubleday was judged out LBW plum infront of his pads for a hard earned 48. The weapon of Steve Campbell entered at number 3 and with Gunthorpe smacking it everywhere this show could get very interesting and so it proved to be. Campbell started cautiously...dot balls....1's....very unlike Campbell until he let loose bashing 36 runs off his last 15 balls before he finally fell caught in the deep for a good 41 runs. Patidar joined Gunthorpe for the final flurry ending up on 25 not out but the innings of the day remained Gunthorpes. Rain interruptions had hampered our innings and 32 overs was the revised limit, in that 32 overs Gunthorpe batted throughout the innings for a chanceless 128 not out, a fantastic effort with Kai Tak posting 263 for 2.

With patchy rain now becoming even more persistent it was imperative that 10 overs be completed by the Tak and at the same time keep CCC under the run rate required which Captain Morley had worked out to be 8.77345 or 90 runs to keep it simple!!

Chris Williams had recovered from his ailments and along with Morley took the new ball. These old pros decided to come off much shortened run ups and the control was evident immediately.

CCC were going to have to give it a bash due to the weather which was now persistent and sometimes very heavy rain. Williams struck in his first over with his first legitimate ball, clean bowling thier opener to bring M. Ahmed to the crease. Ahmed was the main threat from CCC and so it was that his very first delivery was a massive wide down the leg side which Ahmed for some inexplicable reason tried to reach for and within a split second Gunthorpe standing up with the gloves had removed the bails for a superb stumping. It was a terrific piece of cricket!

Wickets fell regularly as pressure piled on, Rick Symington taking a great catch at square leg, the ball a full toss from Morley. Ground fielding, considering the conditions we were now playing in, was outstanding and who better to lead the way, Simon Rattigan who was absolutely flawless in the gully with acrobatic stops to match Jonty Rhodes. It's not just batting and bowling that matter in this game and that was a really good example of how we must be in the field for the rest of the season.

Kai Tak completed the 10 overs with CCC a lowly 24 for 4, well below the mark required and after 7 wickets had fallen we left the field due to heavy rain. CCC declined to bat on handing the game to Kai Tak on a better run rate. CCC were at the time 29 for 7.