Depending on which way you look at it, a draw was the end result of this game. Some will see it as a positive as we didn't lose, whilst others will see the negativity of a side happy not to lose (more later).
Skipper Dave Hickey won the toss knowing that a victory would earn us 25 points if we batted first, and so put the opposition out to field. The plan didn't seem to be working when George Ballington missed a straight one with the third delivery of the match and was promptly castled. Ollie Ekers (13) and Jamie Walton (14) were dismissed before 13 overs had been bowled, but we were scoring at five an over. There followed a brilliant partnership of 125 between Lesiba Ngoepe and Dave in 19 overs before they both fell in successive balls, Lezza top edged to mid on for 90 from 82 balls (14 x 4's, 2 x 6's), and Dave got one to first slip for 66 from 68 balls (11 x 4's). Jack Newton and Sam Bear were out for single figure scores whilst assisting Jack Plom to his first league 50 of the season (7 x 4's, 2 x 6's) before becoming the 8th wicket to fall. Joe Massie's stay was a brief one. A ninth wicket partnership of 25 between James Salisbury (27 n.o) and debutant Zac Patel (1 n.o) gave Dave the licence to make a declaration on 280-9 after 47 overs, giving Wells the chance to make a game of it and try and beat our score in 48 overs.
Wells batted at just over four runs an over and were 132-2 at the second drinks break, with both batsmen looking comfortable and in a position where they could attack the target. It must be said that there were no chances offered up to this point, so it was strange to see that they hadn't tried to make more inroads in the chase. Once the captain went in the first of the 17 remaining overs, it was time to shut up shop and bat out the remaining 16.2 overs. George was brought on with 12 overs to go and took three of the next four wickets to fall, but the visitors hung on, reaching 195-7 after their allocated 48 overs at 7:50pm, the latest finish so far this season.
Frustratingly, we were batting for over three and a half hours, and whilst balls were lost and replaced, there wasn't any rush bowling the overs, something that didn't seem to be picked up on Our overs were bowled in three hours 10 minutes and included an extra over. This was helped by the fact that there were THREE five ball overs in their innings, whilst there was one five ball over in ours.
Is the emphasis in a timed game on the side batting first to bat themselves to safety and then try to get the opponents out, or is it down to the team batting second to avoid defeat at all/any cost? I suppose it depends on where your team bats, and whether you want to make a game of it. With seven more time games to go, viewpoints may switch from one to the other as a game progresses and the importance of the result. How many times will a side gamble to get a victory? Today was an indication of how sides may play as the season unfolds. More games will be talked about going for a win rather than boring people with negative tactics.
Despite only getting a draw, the 1's have rise to the top of the table after seven games, with four wins, two draws and one defeat.. Next is the reverse fixture at Westcliff on Sea who are only seven points behind us in fourth place. Maybe a more positive game for both sides?
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