• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

The Colts Thread

Majin

International Debutant
Well, I've been tasked with doing the reports for some of our training matches so...here we go!


Colts Pre-Season warmup Match - Wright XI vs Towns XI FC Warmup

The Colts pre-season got underway in fine fashion at the Fardin Qayyumi Cricket Club, with a cracking match between Towns' XI vs Wrights XI. Batting conditions looked to be perfect, with good high bounce giving some incentive for the quickies to do well, with rookies Will Kerr, Mark Hopgood, Thad Bochat and Manan Shah looking to make a favourable impression, while new signings Chris Butler, Mike Wilson and Simon Fitzsimmons prepared to show their new teammates what they would bring to the table this season.

Daniel Towns won the toss and chose to bat first and try and make use of the great batting track. Despite the early loss of Simon Fitzsimmons, LBW for 5 to Thad Bochat, They started out well, with Pooja Bharat smashing a quickfire 53 off of 46 balls, before Daniel Towns and Will Kerr came together for a fine partnership of 154. Both had reprieves, Towns being dropped on 14 and Kerr on 13 from the bowling of McNamara, dropped by Jasotharan each. Kerr was eventually out for a fine 81, out to Bochat. Dan Rai came out and accompanied Towns to his century off 166 balls. Mike Wilson bowled a long spell, first getting rid of Rai for 6, and then finally removing Towns, who was out for 130.

This sparked a collapse, with Bochat coming back into the attack to blow away the lower order, finishing with figures of 5-125. Manan Shah was part of a farcical run out situation, with one of the Grade players who had been drafted in to pad out the teams. Shah called for a single, and as they were running Monaghan somehow managed to bring his bat up and clothesline Shah as they were crossing, completely flooring him and leaving him utterly stranded in the middle of the pitch. Not long after that Kyle Wright wrapped up the innings, with the Towns XI posting 350.

The Wright XI reply started off in fine style, with Hopgood and Malthus-Howell scoring at five an over and bringing up a 50 partnership before stumps at day one. Hopgood finished on 40, after being dropped twice in one over while still on 2. They carried on in much the same style the next morning, Hopgood making the most of his chances and speeding to 50 off 42 balls and then carrying on with Malthus-Howell to bring up the 100 partnership a few overs later. The Towns XI turned to Spin to try and break the partnership, and it worked, Hopgood eventually departing for 76 at just over a run a ball, bowled by Weber. Rai came on to partner him and had Das out cheaply, clean bowled. Malthus-Howell was joined by Christ Butler, and went on to post his half century, and the pair batted through until lunch. After the break they carred on to yet another 50 partnership in the game, but Hancock came on and took a brace of wickets, Malthus-Howell for 71 and Butler owled for 33. Wilson and Jasotharan came together for another 50 partnership, with Wilson hogging the strike, which eventually got to Jasotharan as he attempted to smash Dan Rai out of the park, missed everything and was bowled.

Wilson batted on through to tea and kept going after, picking up another 50 partnership with grade player Swann and on to a fine century despite losing partners at the other end at regular intervals. He was eventually out for 115 off only 110 balls, which pushed the Wright XI to a healthy total of 409, a lead of 59 runs. Geg Thomas and Nick Hancock both took three wickets each.

With the match so far being a fairly even contest, expectations were high for the second innings. Kyle Wright had other ideas, though, having Bharat caught off his first ball and bowling Fitzsimmons for 2 in the second over. The Towns XI went into collapse again, with only Towns (36) and Kerr (14) in the top 6 making it into double figures, Wright and Wilson sharing the top 5 between them. Tarick Weber walked out with the scoreboard at 63 for 5, and went about trying to rebuild the innings. The Towns XI tail wagged furiously, Weber first hitting 41 off 66 balls and then the two grade players, Monoghan and Banik, coming together from 8 and 9 in the order to score 51 and 78 respectively to get the Towns XI up to a respectable 271 all out, Wright, Bochat and Wilson all finishing with three apiece, and setting themselves 213 to win.

The chase didn't get off to the best of starts, as with two overs in the session left to play before tea, Greg Thomas had Mark Hopgood out for 4 in the first over of the innings. Afterwards A.S Das and Malthus-Howell played carefully until Weber bowled Das for 43, and not long after Manan Shah took Malthus-Howell for 27 and the always dangerous Jasotharan for 15. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals, with Chris Butler playing a lone hand, the Towns XI kept themselves in the game and at stumps on day 3 it was evenly balanced with the score at 132-5.

The weather on day four was glum, and the pitch, while still a decent batting track, was showing a few cracks here and there. Butler and Swann showed great application and concentration, and added 22 runs before rain stopped play and an early lunch was called. Luckily, only one over was lost to rain, and play resumed with Hancock striking in the first over after lunch. Butler reached his half century with the score on 171 for 6, and was single handedly leading his team to victory. At the other end Weber had Galbraith caught for 2 before rain stopped play again for half an hour. At the restart Hancock struck in the first over again, deceiving McNamara with a slower ball and removing his off stump. Captain Kyle Wright came out to join Butler at the crease with the scores at 194-8, with both teams sensing victory. The defining moment of the match came when Pooja Bharat dropped Butler, who had had a rough period of three overs hardly scoring. The let off gave the batsman a sense of relief, and three overs later he hit the winning boundary, finishing up 82 not out, with Wright at the other end 8 not out including a huge six off Hancock, just seeing the Wright XI over the line in a tight encounter.

DP Towns' XI 350 (Towns 130; Bochat 5-125) & 271 (Banik 78; Wilson 3-37, Wright 3-69, Bochat 3-102) lost to KS Wright's XI 409 (Wilson 115, Hopgood 76, Malthus-Howell 71; Thomas 3-78, Hancock 3-105) & 215/8 (Butler 82*; Weber 3-68, Shah 2-33)

And there we have it. Great game, even if it was only a warmup. Also first time I've ever attempted writing a match report so...I'll improve as time goes on, I hope.
 

Attachments

Last edited:

Loony BoB

International Captain
Very good game, a lot of people getting runs and the wickets were fairly spread, too. Looking forward to the next one!
 

Majin

International Debutant
It was a really cool game. The only real problem that should be noted is the amount of dropped catches there were from both sides, simple ones as well. Need to remedy that before the season starts. But yeah, some awesome performances from everyone.
 

Loony BoB

International Captain
Would just like to congratulate Bochat and Wilson in particular on their strong performances in their first game with the Colts side, even if it's just a practice / pre-season game. Five wicket haul and a century, not bad for either of you. I'd go into detail on other efforts as well but so many players put in a performance - particularly with the bat, I'm pleased to finally be able to say - that I'd end up listing over half the squad anyway. :p

Dan should write match reports for the big games this season. :D Good stuff.
 

crickhowell

U19 Vice-Captain
Great game guys, we've got a competitive squad this season. Some excellent scores indicating early form. I feel I can take heart from my 90-odd runs.
 

Kweek

Cricketer Of The Year
awesome game lads :happy:
well played, happy with my decent bowling in the 2nd innings and I seem to get a start my 2nd innings...

Bochat looks very good, must be said :D
 

chooka_nick

International 12th Man
Genuinely promising, Colts. We have a good batting and bowling lineup - if it clicks we should do pretty well.
Pumped up for the next warmup!
 

Majin

International Debutant
Heh, cheers Nick. :}

OD Report coming up just as soon as I've written it so...stay tuned.
 

Majin

International Debutant
Towns XI regain momentum with commanding victory
Colts Pre-Season warmup matches

After a close, entertaining encounter between the two Colts XI in the first FC warmup match, which ended up in a tight victory for the Wright XI, the Towns XI wrestled back some momentum with a resounding victory in the first OD warmup match between the two teams. The game featured some standout performances by new and old members of the team alike, and some electric fielding from the Towns XI.

Kyle Wright won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked to be a good pitch. The decision looked to be a good one, as openers Shan Jasotharan and Mark Hopgood came out and scored freely, successfully seeing off talented seam bowler Greg Thomas and new boy Thad Bochat without loss, and batting through to the 14th over for 76 runs without loss.

The introduction of Dan Rai for Thad Bochat was the turning point of the match, as he proceeded to tear the heart out of the top order with an expensive but explosive spell of 4-45 from his first 8 overs. He made an immediate impact by removing Hopgood with the second ball in his spell, thanks to a fantastic catch in the deep by Greg Thomas. Then in his third over, Rai dismissed Malthus-Howell cheaply for 4, Thad Bochat taking another fine catch.

At the other end, Jasotharan was batting well while partners fell all around him, and passed the 50 mark from 57 balls. Rai's fourth over proved to be his most crucial, with a double strike of the always dangerous Tarick Weber, out for just 10. Two balls later, he induced Simon Fitzsimmons to dance down the track, miss the ball and recieve a smart stumping by Pooja Bharat, out for a duck.

Shortly after, captain Daniel Towns took a fantastic diving catch to dismiss Jasotharan for 67 off the bowling of Chris Butler. With the Wright XI innings teetering on the brink on 138/5, Nick Hancock was joined by grade player K Swann, and they set about building a solid partnership and restoring order to the innings. Hancock played sensibly, taking his time and not playing any silly shots, and was content to defend and push the ball around. Rai was brought back into the attack for his final two overs, and was denied a 5-fer when he bowled Hancock, only to be left disappointed as the umpire signalled a no ball. Hancock then saw off Mike Wilson's last over, who finished a very tight spell, giving only 32 runs from his 10 overs, including two maidens.

The following over, Hancock took the attack to Rai and smashed two consecutive 4's and then ran for two to bring up his 50 off 75 balls in the 46th over of the day. His captain would have wanted him to see them through to the end of the days play, however this was not to be as he holed out to PS Banik off the bowling of Towns trying to smash some quick runs towards the end of the innings. Greg Thomas then finished off the innings in fine style in the last over, catching Swann off his own bowling for 44 and then bowling DM Galbraith with a perfect yorker with the last ball of the innings, restricting the Wright XI to an attainable total of 229/8.

The Wright XI would have thought themselves in with a chance of victory at the start of the chase, as captain Kyle Wright bowled a quite brilliant opening spell, getting rid of Pooja Bharat and Chris Butler cheaply, and Daniel Towns for a quickfire 27. However, AS Das, one of the Colts best OD bats, came together at the crease with rookie Will Kerr with the score on 53/3, and completely took the game away from the Wright XI. Both played quite beautifully, Kerr scoring freely with some dashing strokeplay, and Das content to nudge the ball around and play along the ground. The 27th over saw both of them bring up their half century, Kerr's coming at just under a run a ball with five 4's, and Das' off 61 balls with just the one 4.

Neither batsman gave the Wright XI bowlers so much as a sniff until the 43rd over, when Kyle Wright dropped Das off the bowling of Shah, but by then it would have been too little, too late. Das hit the winning boundary two overs later, finishing on 85 not out, partnered excellently to the end by Will Kerr, who finished excruciatingly close to a century on 96 not out, to wrap up a convincing victory for the Towns XI.

Wright XI 229-8 (Jasotharan 67, Hancock 54, Swann 44, Hopgood 33; Rai 4-57)
Towns XI 233-3 (44.4 overs, Kerr 96*, Das 85*; Wright 3-28 [7])


__________________________________________________

A good game for us boys and girl in the Towns XI. Fantastic knocks by Dasa and Kerr, Kerr looking a really good find, even from just these first two matches. Our fielding was much improved today as well, which really bodes well for the season. Personally stoked with my eventual figures of 4-57, although I would like to knock at least 10 runs off that in the season, don't want to be too expensive.

Also much happier with this match report than I was with the first one so...maybe this means I should go out and drink beer before I do them every time I do them. :wacko:
 

Attachments

Last edited:

Loony BoB

International Captain
Not too happy with my batting but more than happy with the win, and the efforts of the team and squad overall. Strong showings from Dan, Dasa, Kerr and the cap'n. I see Jaso and Nick also doing well with the bat... although not good enough for me, eh Nick? :cool: :p

Top class reporting, Dan. :)
 

Top