Saturday 3rd September 2011 vs Pacific C.C.
 
Wash All at Sea as Pacific Sail Home
 
Pacific C.C. 254 for 5 (35 overs)
Washington C.C. 226 all out (32.2 overs)
 

Matt Cragoe reporting.

A career-best innings of 70 from Ash Cruickshank wasn’t enough to see Wash home against old rivals Pacific on Saturday.  On the plastic pitch at Wray Crescent, Pacific racked up a handy score of 254 in their 35 overs; Wash were bowled out 29 runs short of the target.

On a warm and sunny early autumn afternoon, Pacific won the toss and batted first.  The Wash almost got off to the perfect start as Sam Clarke (0-34) found the outside edge of opener Ben Boorman‘s bat, only for the chance to go down at slip.  

The reprieve cost Wash, as Pacific’s openers steadied themselves and added 50 before Luke Mitchell (1-25) pinned Boorman lbw on the back foot. Pacific skipper, Toby Chasseur (83), however, was playing with growing authority, timing his cover drives to perfection and mercilessly thrashing anything short over the leg-side boundary. He and new man Sethi (90) carried the attack to the Wash and added a blazing century partnership for the second wicket.

Wash Skipper Toby Mariner rang the changes in an effort to get the breakthrough:  Sudeep (0-28), Sandeep (0-23), and Swampy Marsh (0-28) and the skip himself (0-33) all turned their arms over, but it was Peter Kloss (2-50) who eventually found the way through.

First he bowled Sethi; then he had Pacific’s South African keeper, Richards, smartly taken at the wicket by Cruickshank.  And after Gary Malcolm (1-10) ended Chasseur’s brilliant innings, nice work from Sudeep and Marsh in the field saw Ahmad run out.  Pacific closed on 254-5, with Roy unbeaten on 22.

Faced with a stiff, but by no means unattainable target, Washington made a disastrous start.  Three wickets fell inside the first 3 overs – Cheviott (0), Sudeep (1) and Clarke (0) all re-hutched in quick succession. At 11-3, the game looked over, but new opener Abhi (43) and Cruickshank, picked up the gauntlet and counter-attacked.

Abhi‘s delightful wristy drives were the perfect aesthetic complement to the more direct approach favoured by Wash dangerman Cruickshank who pummelled three mighty sixes into the trees. Together they added 101 for the fourth wicket – unbelievably, Washington’s first stand of over a hundred this season! 

While they were together, Wash seemed to have a chance.  However, Abhi eventually chipped a catch to mid on, and then, despite some nice batting from debutant Sandeep (21), and a very composed and elegantly crafted knock of 20 (not out) from Mitchell, Wash were unable to regroup. The last wicket fell with the total on 228.

Reflecting on the game afterwards, skipper Mariner said: ‘We dropped catches again which didn’t help; but it was losing three early wickets that cost us. We were up with the run rate as we passed 200, but had no wickets in reserve to see the thing through.’

Man of the Match:  Ash “Dangerman” Cruickshank, for best-ever score and a good afternoon behind the stumps

Packing:  Sam Clarke for egregious over use of “not on that arm” in the field

 

top   back
Batting
Player Runs How out
Sudeep Rana 1 Caught
Matthew Cragoe 0 Caught
Sam Clark 0 Bowled
Ash Cruickshank 70 Caught
Sandeep Nair 21 LBW
Gary Malcolm 2 LBW
Peter Kloss 15 Caught
Stuart Marsh 0 Run Out
Luke Mitchell 20* 
Toby Mariner 16 Stumped
Partnerships
Wkt Runs Batsmen
1 8 Sudeep Rana  &  Matthew Cragoe
3 1  &  Sam Clark
4 101  &  Ash Cruickshank
5 14 Ash Cruickshank  &  Sandeep Nair
6 23 Sandeep Nair  &  Gary Malcolm
7 30 Sandeep Nair  &  Peter Kloss
8 2 Peter Kloss  &  Stuart Marsh
9 21 Peter Kloss  &  Luke Mitchell
10 22 Luke Mitchell  &  Toby Mariner



Fielding
Player Cts Wkt Cts Stmps
Ash Cruickshank - 1 -
Bowling
Player Overs Mdns Runs Wkts
Peter Kloss 7.0 0 50 2
Gary Malcolm 2.0 0 10 1
Toby Mariner 6.0 1 33 0
Sam Clark 6.0 0 34 0
Luke Mitchell 4.0 0 25 1
Sudeep Rana 4.0 0 28 0
Stuart Marsh 4.0 0 28 0
Sandeep Nair 2.0 0 23 0
Top