D-feat
21/08/2010
No game
22/08/2010
The Sunday 1st team lost to Bristol Indians by 51 runs. Bolts reports thus:
If tension, sledging, bickering and all-out gamesmanship are your thang, then this was the match for you as this table-topping clash continually threatened to spill over. The cowboys versus the Indians in the wild west wasn’t this rough.
The captaincy team had been working on a plan for the Indians for the last few weeks; step one fell into place as we won the toss and put the Indians in to bat on a wet and sticky wicket at Coombe Dingle. The second part of the plan fell into place too as a determined effort in the field and a cunning change of bowler order left the Indians all out in the 38th over for ‘just’ 151. Two rare run outs, 7 wickets shared between the Afghans and 1 from Aran saw them off. The centurion from the last game between us: Sahil Patel still managed to top score for the Indians but this time only made 25 and saw much, premature, rejoicing. It wasn’t in the plan that the Afghan / Indian banter would begin to escalate into feuding and vitriol. gathering the team together on 30 overs could not stem the flow of insults between each team but at least it stopped us bickering at each other as the tension and adrenalin coursed through our veins.There are things to work on in this team, staying positive with each other, not screaming to ensure a catch is about to be dropped, not winding up the opposition when you are on top – thus making them play harder, all things that can be addressed with some carefully chosen words and some more experience for the Afghans in game situations.
Until drinks were due (although not taken) at 20 overs, the plan was still very much in effect with the Cowboys on 65 for 2, Bolts having just been caught playing an exhausted shot as the tricky wicket, humid conditions, and several hours of adrenalin rush came to an end. Justin, Bolts and Wilki had shown that this was not going to be a walkover and hard graft and patience would win the day. So what did our middle order do? Decided to bat half-asleep and try and gaily waft their way to victory, that’s what. Incredibly, this tactic did not work and Cowboys slumped to 100 all out and the title dream was over. Happy bloody birthday skip. Life begins at 40, does it end at 43? We shall see, as thefinal two games (both games at Frenchay, against Lansdown who are in 3rd place in the division) of the season will decide whether we can achieve promotion, one win out of the two will see us up, does the pressure ever let up?
The Sunday 2nd Team lost to Brislington by 90 runs. TT reports thus:
If all that matters are points, prizes and league table positions, then what follows is no more than a match report mitigating the final performance of the season by the worst team in the league, who have finished bottom of Division 5 in the Sunday Conference.
But it’s not quite like that, is it?
Although losing to Brislington Sunday 2nd XI in a home game played away (?) the Cowboys resisted until the final over, not out batsman Andy Chester winning a couple of cider moment nominations for some stylish shots to the leg side boundary after the battle was lost.
It was said that the Brislington ground had been under water the night before and so the Cowboys waited at home for the result of a late pitch inspection before embarking upon a 30 over match at 3 pm. Later, it transpired that there had been a free bar at the ground the previous evening, which may or may not have had any bearing on the delayed start.
DC2 inserted the opposition on a stodgy wicket with a lot of cloud cover and Iggy and Dave L reaped rewards with some excellently targeted deliveries, reducing Brislington to 30 for 3. The change bowlers continued to take wickets, albeit a little less economically, ably supported by all in the field. It’s still a bit of a mystery as to how Brislington ended up on 190 for 9, not only because at the time of writing the NSCL website currently shows no detailed stats.
After a hastily thrown together tea, not approved by the Vegan Society and constructed on a roundabout somewhere en-route, Iggy and DC1 began to climb the mountain. Together they gave the Cowboys a very solid base, Iggy scoring runs a plenty over the top and DC1 accumulating well along the ground. There was a faint whiff of jug avoidance as Iggy holed out before his 50, having previously smashed the opposition skipper for four boundaries in one over, but no matter, he justly deserved the Man Of The Match award later and is rumoured to be taking a day off to construct shelves at home to accommodate autumnal trophies.
Grant was very unfortunate to be out to one of the best catches of the season, plucked from the sky by the smallest person on the field. Others in the middle order fell to tamer opportunities while trying to catch up with an increasingly large run rate before the tail chilled and batted out the final overs.
Rather surprisingly, given that victory and promotion were in the Brislington kit bag, the opposition youth displayed more than a tad of petulance, their keeper advancing down the wicket at one stage informing the umpire ‘that’s out that is!’ Apologies were immediately forthcoming from the older generation who expressed exasperation at the difficulties they have had all season in keeping their pups at heel.
Photographic evidence would suggest that the Cowboys reached 118 in the final over although the NSCL website begs to differ. It’s true to say that there had been a few umpiring mishaps with regards to extras – for which apologies are proffered – although those alone don’t account for the disparity.
This report was originally posted here.
If tension, sledging, bickering and all-out gamesmanship are your thang, then this was the match for you as this table-topping clash continually threatened to spill over. The cowboys versus the Indians in the wild west wasn't this rough. The captaincy team had been working on a plan for the Indians for the last few weeks; step one fell into place as we won the toss and put the Indians in to bat on a wet and sticky wicket at Coombe Dingle. The second part of the plan fell into place too as a determined effort in the field and a cunning change of bowler order left the Indians all out in the 38th over for 'just' 151. Two rare run outs, 7 wickets shared between the Afghans and 1 from Aran saw them off. The centurion from the last game between us: Sahil Patel still managed to top score for the Indians but this time only made 25 and saw much, premature, rejoicing. It wasn't in the plan that the Afghan / Indian banter would begin to escalate into feuding and vitriol. gathering the team together on 30 overs could not stem the flow of insults between each team but at least it stopped us bickering at each other as the tension and adrenalin coursed through our veins.There are things to work on in this team, staying positive with each other, not screaming to ensure a catch is about to be dropped, not winding up the opposition when you are on top - thus making them play harder, all things that can be addressed with some carefully chosen words and some more experience for the Afghans in game situations. Until drinks were due (although not taken) at 20 overs, the plan was still very much in effect with the Cowboys on 65 for 2, Bolts having just been caught playing an exhausted shot as the tricky wicket, humid conditions, and several hours of adrenalin rush came to an end. Justin, Bolts and Wilki had shown that this was not going to be a walkover and hard graft and patience would win the day. So what did our middle order do? Decided to bat half-asleep and try and gaily waft their way to victory, that's what. Incredibly, this tactic did not work and Cowboys slumped to 100 all out and the title dream was over. Happy bloody birthday skip. Life begins at 40, does it end at 43? We shall see, as the final two games (both games at Frenchay, against Lansdown who are in 3rd place in the division) of the season will decide whether we can achieve promotion, one If tension, sledging, bickering and all-out gamesmanship are your thang, then this was the match for you as this table-topping clash continually threatened to spill over. The cowboys versus the Indians in the wild west wasn't this rough. The captaincy team had been working on a plan for the Indians for the last few weeks; step one fell into place as we won the toss and put the Indians in to bat on a wet and sticky wicket at Coombe Dingle. The second part of the plan fell into place too as a determined effort in the field and a cunning change of bowler order left the Indians all out in the 38th over for 'just' 151. Two rare run outs, 7 wickets shared between the Afghans and 1 from Aran saw them off. The centurion from the last game between us: Sahil Patel still managed to top score for the Indians but this time only made 25 and saw much, premature, rejoicing. It wasn't in the plan that the Afghan / Indian banter would begin to escalate into feuding and vitriol. gathering the team together on 30 overs could not stem the flow of insults between each team but at least it stopped us bickering at each other as the tension and adrenalin coursed through our veins.There are things to work on in this team, staying positive with each other, not screaming to ensure a catch is about to be dropped, not winding up the opposition when you are on top - thus making them play harder, all things that can be addressed with some carefully chosen words and some more experience for the Afghans in game situations. Until drinks were due (although not taken) at 20 overs, the plan was still very much in effect with the Cowboys on 65 for 2, Bolts having just been caught playing an exhausted shot as the tricky wicket, humid conditions, and several hours of adrenalin rush came to an end. Justin, Bolts and Wilki had shown that this was not going to be a walkover and hard graft and patience would win the day. So what did our middle order do? Decided to bat half-asleep and try and gaily waft their way to victory, that's what. Incredibly, this tactic did not work and Cowboys slumped to 100 all out and the title dream was over. Happy bloody birthday skip. Life begins at 40, does it end at 43? We shall see, as the final two games (both games at Frenchay, against Lansdown who are in 3rd place in the division) of the season will decide whether we can achieve promotion, one win out of the two will see us up, does the pressure ever let up? win out of the two will see us up, does the pressure ever let up?