North Harbour BurgundyAll the way home I was kept asking myself how we lost this game. Looking back at the scorebook, it is really difficult to see when it went wrong.
The first 15 overs we looked sluggish in the field but, after our drinks break, we came out and really put them under pressure; our fielding was sharp, our bowling was tight and they started throwing their wickets away. There were some good bowling performances but, most of all it was the pressure that everyone exerted that led to the wickets - a really good team effort in the field.
We came out to bat wanting 117 from 30 overs (less than 4 an over) and started off well. Sam Hinds and Reid Hastie looked after their wickets and we got off to a good start (0-10 overs we were going at 3 an over). I would like to see us move on a bit after 10 overs (10-20 overs we were going at 4.4 an over) and start pushing the score on, especially once we have our eyes in but, the important thing was not to lose any wickets in those first 10 overs, so on balance I was happy with where we were.
After drinks, we really needed to move the score along and once Reid (31 Not Out) and Sam (30 Not Out) retired, we had to start again with Eru Hudson and Chris Woodard getting their eyes in. It was bit unfortunate because, had we not had the retirements so close to each other, we could have balanced it out but, two new batsman at the crease meant that the run rate started increasing. However, with 7 overs left we needed 35 runs and I still felt confident that with 10 wickets in hand, we would make it easily. Like I said, with wickets in hand, it is difficult to know where we lost this game but, I do think that it is important for you start being more aware of where you are in the game - I am guilty of this as well; I was at the other game thinking everything was all good when I realised that things were getting tight. However, I know that we have all learnt something from this and can take this in to the next game.
Parnell A 117 All Out from 29.3 Overs (Oliver Peterson 1/11, Steven Newey 1/14, Jack Stevenson, Bronson Marshall 2/5, Chris Woodard 1/7 and Reid Hastie 2/24) NH Burgundy 115/3 from 30 overs (Reid Hastie 31 Not Out, Sam Hinds 30 Not Out and Evan Cronje 15 Not Out)
NH Burgundy lost by 2 runs
North Harbour Black
This was a case of being beaten by the extras! Not to take anything away from their batting performance but, we just bowled too many "poor" deliveries. There were 38 extras and that was the difference between the two sides in the end. We also stood a little too deep in the field and this allowed them to take singles at will. We need to look at the outfield conditions when we position ourselves - close cut surfaces will mean that the ball travels off the bat faster and reaches the fielder quicker. In this case the grass grabbed hold of the ball and meant that when we stood deep they were able to run easy singles as we stood and waited for the ball to arrive.
Bjorn Wojt and Asher Robb were the pick of the bowlers but, as noted above, everyone needs to work on their line and length. As a bowler, you must practice bowling tightly - pick a spot in the net and mark it with chalk and see how many times you can hit it. When we go in to Y7, the level will step up again and bowlers must stop bowling wides/no balls.
They set us a target of 146 to win and we gave it a very brave shot. We started off looking good until Rory was caught very smartly at point but, Matt Strain and Kit Freeman steadied the ship for a while. We then lost a few quick wickets before Bjorn Wojt and Jake Skellern put on a nice partnership. Unfortunately, we could never quite get the run rate up to where we needed and we were always chasing our tails - 10 overs; 37 runs and 20 overs; 72 runs was always asking a lot of our middle order. We all dared to dream when Ben Reidy smashed his first ball for six but, it was not to be.
All in all, a fine effort but, I think that individually we will be dissapointed we did not do better. As with the other game, the Parnell team play "prem" cricket every Saturday and are used to the higher level of competition. Our Saturday cricket means that we need to make a step up to this level - opposition batsman will hit bad balls and bowlers will punish poor technique. As a team we need to work together to bring everyone up to a level where we can compete; there is no reason why we should not beat these sides, we just need to focus during the games, keep practicing and learning from each game.
Thanks to Scott Gannaway, who turned out last minute for his North Harbour debut - well done Scott!
Parnell B 145/5 from 30 overs (Asher Robb 1/12, Ben Reidy 1/20, Bjorn Wojt 1/9, Jake Skellern 1/20 and Rory Douglas 1/9) NH Black 119/7 from 30 overs (Kit Freeman 12, Matt Strain 11, Jake Skellern 13, Bjorn Wojt 28 and Ben Reidy 11)
Parnell won by 27 runs
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