03/08/24
TEAM TRIUMPH
Wickets and runs shared out as it all comes together for the Thirds
Camden (20pts) 153-3 beat Cam Kerala II (4pts) 152 by 7 wickets
After last week’s poor show from Newmarket, the Thirds – under the leadership of the returning Captain Redfern – got an early opportunity to show how it’s done. Convinced that Farid had found the edge, but willing to accept the not out decision and to get on with the game. It looked like Farid’s run of bad luck would continue, but soon enough – after Rizwan had picked up a wicket in his first over – it was the paceman’s turn to bag three wickets in as many overs. Catches for Prathyush, Sutton and Redfern – the latter managing to avoid injury. At 35-4 after nine overs, the visiting Cam Kerala were in trouble. Trouble that could have been deeper, had Sutton not dropped a chance at deep extra-cover. That brought the opening batsman on strike, who attempted to add to the three sixes he’d already taken off Rizwan. But he could only find the safe hands of Farid on the long-off boundary. 37-5 after ten overs, but the visitors continued to run towards the danger. 28 runs came from the next three overs. Crucially, though, Farid (8-2-29-4) capped off a fine display by taking a terrific catch off his own bowling. Farid and Rizwan (2-48) were replaced by Ritish and Karan, and it was the latter who would strike next. With the scoreboard reading 114-7 from twenty-three overs, the visitors at last found two batsmen who could stick around. Debutant Irtazar (cap number 174) was thrown the ball, bowling tidily without luck. Krishna bowled with great control, and the leg-spinner was rewarded with a stumping by Prathyush and an LBW, finishing with figures of 2-16 from seven overs. Karan (2-17) needed one ball of his second spell to wrap things up, with Cam Kerala all out for 152. That’s 100 Thirds wickets for the
Unlike Prathyush, who had twisted an ankle, Redders had come through unscathed and would open with the in-form Sutton. Against some accurate bowling, the skipper appeared to be in a rare watchful mood. The first boundary didn’t come until the seventh over, but the fifty came up in the in the fourteenth. Redders (28) took that at his cue to miss a straight one, and Coe – after hitting a fine straight drive -followed, LBW for 11. Krishna benefitted from Prathyush’s injury to come in at number four. After a week off, the Bulusu upgrade had already proved that the bug fixes had worked on his leg-spin. The same applied to his batting, and with Sutton nearing another half century, the pair had taken the score to 120-2 in the thirty-first over. For the third time this season, however, Sutton (48) fell victim to the nervous forties. Enter Prtathyush, who was soon testing that ankle with a quick single. In evident pain, Prathyush was urged by Sutton to “do what your skipper would do.” In the event, Krishna (40*) batted superbly to see his side to the brink of a long-awaited victory. All that was left was for Prathyush (12*) to hit the winning run from the first ball of the thirty-seventh over.
Man of the Match: Krishna Bulusu