Well, we beat the Troopers to advance another week in 9ths. To maximise our use of resources we bowled first, and the tone of things falling (mostly) our way was set in the 4th over, when Lach plucked a ridiculous one hander out of the air to dismiss the dangerous Tony Campey. Mick Carman then chewed up a lot of balls before Lach knocked him over, but the biggest wicket fell shortly after drinks, when Cramsie bowled Finlayson (the bloke with the bat the size of Phar Lap’s heart) round his legs to really shift momentum. Tex batted with patience and power in equal measure, but he was the only Trooper to retire as the back up bowlers kept the runs fairly tidy, and the Troopers did a solid impression of the Gladstones as they swung hard but rarely cleanly connected. In the end, it was a fantastic all round effort, with all 8 bowlers collecting a wicket each, and Kunal effecting the 9th wicket via run out. Still, 180 was not an insignificant score, and the chase would be a challenge.
Rob opened like a guy needing to leave at 2pm, and his 24 in quick time was an excellent start. Kunal also made a patient 24 before getting a Glacken Special, but it was the 70 odd partnership between Lach and AJ Jnr that really put us in the driving seat. They scored at just under the required rate, but preserved their wickets, until there were 10 overs to go, when they kicked it up a notch. When AJ was dismissed we only needed 43 off 42 balls, which, with 5 wickets in hand, wasn’t too much of an ask, with the Troopers having already thrown some of their best bowling at us. The gaps opened up in the final overs and we finished up with 4 wickets and 2.5 overs in hand. A great finish to a game played in good humour.
