B4 Round 6 v Seaforth (Balgowlah)
Result: First innings loss
Players Player: ??
Toss: ??

"... to make the sun come out again..."

Rain robbed the Breakers of a possible win at pictureseque Balgowlah Oval, after two fine bowling efforts by the Breakers.

(Well, thats MY version of the truth anyway - and I'm sticking to it!)

Balgowlah Oval is probably the nicest looking ground to play at on the coast. Its misleading actually (the scribes first ever game was here, and I thought all Aussie grounds were picket fenced and green turfed, etc), but for this game the green outfield promised a bit of leather chasing. Funny, again, how these scripts actually turn out...

The story of the match was that the bowling was very good, and that by day two the Breakers confidently set off looking for the one big batting effort that would win us the game. But, back to the start...

Day one's Breakers script seemed to be that bowlers would take wickets, then get injured. Pat Ryan tore the top off Seaforth's batting, but in the process strained a hamstring muscle. Ryan Reckerman steamed in from the other end, took 3-6, and injured his back. In between these, the other bowlers (skipper Matt Fisher, Doug Alley and Col Henderson) tied down and removed Seaforth's batsmen. A last wicket hit out got them to 128, a very achievable total.

Unfortunately, we chose today to lose wickets quickly - the bowling was good, the batting OK but the luck (and maybe care) not there. Rob Lavery (16), Ryan Reckerman (11 retired), and especially Doug Alley (26) were the only players to get double figures. Our first day ended at 88/8, with Ryan possibly late the next week and leaving Rog Moore and James Foye to get the 39 runs we needed to win.

Business delays meant Ryan was late the next week, and had to retire, and only 2 runs were added before the last wicket fell, giving Seaforth a first innings lead neither team probably expected.

The set-back fires the Breakers. Again, our second innings bowling and fielding effort was marvellous, played under ever darkening skies and the threat of a thunderstorm. Doug Alley, in the middle of a purple patch with the bat, backed up with the ball. His second innings rout of the Seaforth team read 11-3-21-7. Doug's "Michelle" (Pfiefer, as in 5-for, for those who don't read Steve Waugh's books), was his first five wicket haul in his cricket career. It is also the second best bowling for MBCC, ever. Along the way, Tony Brown had his first bowl for the Breakers.

Seaforth declared their second innings closed, leaving a chase of 169 for the out-right and plenty of time to get them. Seaforth probably thought they were in the box seat. Captain Matt Fisher and his side were confident though - we had batted below our ability in the first dig, practiced well all week, and certainly had the depth to get the runs.

Unfortunately, the weather, menancing all day, had the final say. Openers Rob Lavery and David Lang had seven on the board, but the rain, getting into its stride, got worse. Watched by the team inside the safety of parked cars, nature won, the players ran, and the game was called off.

(The rain was to have an amusing sequal. Rog Moore, team gear handler-storer, retrieved the gear from his storage cage and found most of it missing. Needless to say, this was not a good thing. Thought such as "theft", "replacement gear for stupidity" raced through my head. Arrving at practice, I wasnt a happy camper. Until Langy started adding gear to the bag, stating he and Rob had headed for the cars and simply kept the gear rather than get wetter. Yay and smiles all round. I'm happy to recive the inaugural "Womble of the Week (WOW) Award". At least I was saved a trip to Kingsgrove...)