Match Report :: Anza Div II vs Mucc Knights

Another hot start and things went well from the beginning with MUCC skipper calling wrong and thus allowing us to choose to bat first.
Richie and Corbon laid in a solid start on a very wet outfield coming in to drinks at 73-0 after 13. Both fell early in the next session bringing Chris Walker and Pat together. The two most productive batsmen in the side added 60 runs together to bring the total to 156 before Pat wandered far enough down the wicket to give the keeper time to collapse onto the stumps from several paces back. Another few wickets fell in relatively short time before Tony provided good support to Chris. After a big straight six to the long boundary Chris was well caught trying to repeat the shot for 55. Tony kept the scoring moving and we went into the last over 222/6 hoping to reach mid-230s. However a hat-trick of boundary catches and a last ball stumping saw the final score of 224 all out off 40 overs (and one of the weakest and most expensive 7-fors you'll ever see - but still, a 7- is a 7-!
224 on a very slow outfield was pretty competitive total until out stepped a Jayasuriya bat-alike. Same stance, body shape, backlift, aggression, shots, etc. Both Clive and Chris Sweet took some stick, although Clive winkled out the other opener with a top edge taken well on the run by Chris at shortish fine leg. Pat came on after just 4 overs to try and break through Jaya-clone, but it looked like more of the same with 2 wides and 2 slapped boundaries until a corker yorker did the batsman completely (34 including 8 4s). 2-45 off six overs! Clive induced a little nick, well taken by Robert standing up to the stumps in the next over (and another couple that didn't reach Pat at slip) and with Pat bowling to 2 slips, 2 gullys and a backward point the batsmen were intent purely on survival. Pat struck again in his third over to make the score 66-4 after 10 overs. Chris returned to dry things up completely and Corbon came on for one over before drinks which only lasted 3 balls before the batsman ignored the turn to see his off stump rattled. 5-73 at drinks was a matchwinning session.
Our good friend Nara was the new batsman after drinks and with his partner fashioned a 51 run partnership at a fairly careful pace before a couple of failed bowling changes cost double figure overs. Corbon came back for a second spell and broke the partnership, and the next one first ball, while Tony came on at the other end and bowled his usual tight stuff picking up a couple of wickets.
MUCC finished with 143 all out so a 9-1 win to Anza by 81 runs.
Highlights were many:
40 from Richie and 39 from Corbon - opening partnership of 78 in under 15 overs.
55 from Chris W and 31 from Pat - partnership of 60 in less than 10 overs.
26 from Tony.
Tony, Ash and Chris S caught in consecutive balls in the last over, all on the boundary!
2-48 from Clive
8-0-22-0 from Chris S
2-30 from Pat
8-1-21-4 from Corbon
2-10 from Tony
No byes, a catch and no missed chances (and a lot of good saves down leg) from Robert