Not Every Ground is as Beautiful as The Wick
More Rabbit Than Waitrose (S.Riley)
After a
disappointing set of pre-season friendlies, most would have said that the 1’s
would be looking to consolidate their div 5 position rather than looking to promotion. Therefore the 1st game of the league away at relegated
Southern Railway and Kenley was met with slight trepidation by skipper Tong who
had never previously played against this oppo.
Before
departing both Leggsy and Charlie High words had been; ”nice place, almost West Indian like ground”
so Tongy was keen to revive tour memories and get down there nice and early to
survey the scene. West Indian looking maybe (do they have council housing in
the Caribbean?), West Indian weather certainly not. A typically damp early
season day and a very typically green deck greeted the travelling Wick side.
Lady luck
smiled the Wick's way, Riley’s lucky £2 coin never disappoints, and SK&R
were asked to have 1st bat on a tricky looking deck.
The Bowling
unit, for so many years the strength of the Wick, looks a little weaker
compared to previous years. The loss of Daisy and Kamran are certainly big gaps
to fill (Kammy’s gap certainly a bit bigger….) however Tong snr without a
hangover and Tong jnr without women troubles to complement Nomaan, Fahad and
young Spinner Alex Dare is certainly still one of the strongest bowling units
in the league.
As hoped
the bowlers wasted no time in finding rhythm. However Nomaan Ali was certainly
the pick of the bowling picking up 6 for 20, well supported by Tong snr with 2
for 16. Only Aqeel making his 1st xi debut looked a bit rusty
without a pre-season game under his belt.
A hugely frustrating 9th wicket stand and two rain breaks
held the Wick up but SK&R could only make 126 all out from 43 overs.
SK&R look like they will have to rely heavily on opener Adam Pryor who
looked a class apart for a team whose batting line-up looks likely to struggle for
runs all year.
Due to the
loss of overs the Wick were then presented with a reduced target of 92 from 30.
This played into Wick hands as the deck had started to cut up and become
very sticky and uneven. The fewer runs to chase the better.
SK&R
may struggle for hugely talented individuals but they certainly don’t lack a
few words in the field. Out strode Rashid and Tong snr to a barrage of verbals
from a young side not afraid to make you feel welcome. What certainly made the
task harder was accurate bowling on a track livelier than the banter. Immy departed early and in came Tong jnr. Despite great talent [and modesty - Ed] Tong jnr failed to deliver with the bat last year and was determined to make
amends this year. If he continues as he started then he will challenge the top
batting stats for the league. He raced to 50 and punished anything short or
straying onto the pads. Despite a slight wobble and a flurry of wickets the
Wick made it home with wickets and overs to spare, bonus point in the bag.
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