2014
Sony Sixers 2014
23/09/20 12:58
What started off as a beautiful spring evening turned into some of the darkest conditions that cricket has ever been played in. By the time the 40th Over had the day had been bowled only the pink ball and bright orange shirts of the opposition could be seen through the gloom.
The evening started well for the Bar with Chester finding the secret to a great innings. Bat with some else’s bat and pretend you are on the first tee at Hoylake. His fifty came in quick time with a variety of hooks and slashes and wafts before he was required to retire in the 8th over. Morrisey (2), got bowled by what started off being described as ‘one that seamed a bit’ but the end of the night had become ‘the ball of the century’. Rogers (15) and Eastwood (6) kept the scoreboard ticking before ‘two sixes’ Harthan (2) made his way to the crease. The captain, must have felt the pressure of Kenward’s on looking eyes as he succumbed to the full straight one which left Orr to mount somewhat of a recovery. Having abandoned the plank of 1960’s timber that was the ‘ACE’ bat, Orr found that his own particular brand of heaves to the leg side was rather suited to the opposition bowling, ratting along to 40 with a combination of perfectly executed pulls and the odd ‘swing and miss’.
With 6 wickets down, Chester (59no) was forced back from early retirement to join Armstrong (6) at the crease. Chester found that using his own bat was somewhat more difficult, failing to bat with the same panache that had come earlier in the innings. He did however become the Bar’s first ever ‘last man standing’ with Armstrong somewhat controversially run out despite obviously making his ground .The Bar posted 153-7 in 20 overs.
Morrissey looked like he had played before as he opened the bowling finishing with figures of 4-1-9-1 to ensure that there was no sort of challenge to the Bar’s total. In support Rogers (4-0-1-20) and Armstrong (4-0-19-2) also prevented Sony from ever really getting on top although the Sony number 5 with 36 runs off 33 balls caused some problems. To cap a fine evening personally, Chester (3-0-17-1) took a wicket with his first ball, Harthan taking an athletic catch over his head. This was particularly impressive given Hathan couldn’t walk as recently as last Wednesday. Orr (4-0-23-1) saw a less impressive return than his previous match but still saw figures which took him to the top of the Liverpool Corporate League Bowling rankings.
With a lighting storm gathering all around and Sony huddling close to the metal box on the boundary edge, it was left to Eastwood to finish the evening with a single over. There were those who suggested this was somewhat risky for the Bar, given that there had to be 5 legitimate balls in the over and Sony only required 67 more runs to win. Eastwood however stuck manfully to the task at hand with the concession of only 7 to see the bar home by 59 runs.
The game finished with the first drops of what will go down as ‘the great storm of 2014’. It also finished with Chester as the clear man of the match, going to the top of the league batting rankings. Special mention to the debutants Rogers and Morrissey, both of whom looked a little too athletic to be playing for the bar. This match is somewhat of a red letter day for the Bar as it is likely to be the only time in their history that they will be top of the league and have the top ranked players in Bowling and Batting
Liverpool Bar beat Sony Sixers by 59 runs.
The evening started well for the Bar with Chester finding the secret to a great innings. Bat with some else’s bat and pretend you are on the first tee at Hoylake. His fifty came in quick time with a variety of hooks and slashes and wafts before he was required to retire in the 8th over. Morrisey (2), got bowled by what started off being described as ‘one that seamed a bit’ but the end of the night had become ‘the ball of the century’. Rogers (15) and Eastwood (6) kept the scoreboard ticking before ‘two sixes’ Harthan (2) made his way to the crease. The captain, must have felt the pressure of Kenward’s on looking eyes as he succumbed to the full straight one which left Orr to mount somewhat of a recovery. Having abandoned the plank of 1960’s timber that was the ‘ACE’ bat, Orr found that his own particular brand of heaves to the leg side was rather suited to the opposition bowling, ratting along to 40 with a combination of perfectly executed pulls and the odd ‘swing and miss’.
With 6 wickets down, Chester (59no) was forced back from early retirement to join Armstrong (6) at the crease. Chester found that using his own bat was somewhat more difficult, failing to bat with the same panache that had come earlier in the innings. He did however become the Bar’s first ever ‘last man standing’ with Armstrong somewhat controversially run out despite obviously making his ground .The Bar posted 153-7 in 20 overs.
Morrissey looked like he had played before as he opened the bowling finishing with figures of 4-1-9-1 to ensure that there was no sort of challenge to the Bar’s total. In support Rogers (4-0-1-20) and Armstrong (4-0-19-2) also prevented Sony from ever really getting on top although the Sony number 5 with 36 runs off 33 balls caused some problems. To cap a fine evening personally, Chester (3-0-17-1) took a wicket with his first ball, Harthan taking an athletic catch over his head. This was particularly impressive given Hathan couldn’t walk as recently as last Wednesday. Orr (4-0-23-1) saw a less impressive return than his previous match but still saw figures which took him to the top of the Liverpool Corporate League Bowling rankings.
With a lighting storm gathering all around and Sony huddling close to the metal box on the boundary edge, it was left to Eastwood to finish the evening with a single over. There were those who suggested this was somewhat risky for the Bar, given that there had to be 5 legitimate balls in the over and Sony only required 67 more runs to win. Eastwood however stuck manfully to the task at hand with the concession of only 7 to see the bar home by 59 runs.
The game finished with the first drops of what will go down as ‘the great storm of 2014’. It also finished with Chester as the clear man of the match, going to the top of the league batting rankings. Special mention to the debutants Rogers and Morrissey, both of whom looked a little too athletic to be playing for the bar. This match is somewhat of a red letter day for the Bar as it is likely to be the only time in their history that they will be top of the league and have the top ranked players in Bowling and Batting
Liverpool Bar beat Sony Sixers by 59 runs.
Team United 2014
23/09/20 12:56
The Bar made their debut in this competition however it was familiar failings that left them short against last year’s runners up. Even with the move to an 8 player format the Bar were unable to field a full team. Harthan, Armstrong, Chester, Tinkler, Sinker, Eastwood and Orr were the familiar faces with competition organiser John Moore stepping as a guest.
The Bar were concerned that the oppo looked quite useful in their warm up. Having lost the toss the Bar were put into bat. Chester and Armstrong opened against a bowler who, in breach of Rule G (perhaps the Bar skipper should’ve spotted it at the time), wandered all the way back to Otterspool to begin his run up. Playing with a pink ball which seemed to do a bit more in the air than the more traditional dull red corky, the openers built a steady platform off the first few overs before Chester fell. Harthan then came to the crease. Despite an early disagreement arising from Armstrong’s failure to properly understand Rule B (the “Double Play Rule") the Harthan/Armstrong partnership frustrated the opposition. In an unusual twist of roles, Harthan, who has a steady average of 1 six per season throughout his cricket career, hoiked a couple of balls deep onto the bowling green whilst Armstrong struggled to find his usual big hitting form. Even when Armstrong did find the middle of the bat, and in scenes reminiscent of Carpenters last year, he found Harthan at the non-strikers end a capable fielder. In something of an indignity for the 2010 player of the season, at one point the oppo’s skipper was setting a deep field for Harthan and closing the field for Armstrong. In the last 5 or so overs the Bar began to attack the bowling in a more flamboyant style. Unfortunately, rather than the hoped for acceleration to a par score, the wickets began to tumble. Armstrong and Tinkler departed in quick succession, Harthan was then caught at deep mid on, Orr and Eastwood went in the final couple of overs leaving Sinker to successfully fend off the final few deliveries and avoid the eponymous last man standing scenario.
Notwithstanding the suspicion that the oppo’s batting line up might have given priority to their weaker players, the Bar got off to a good start in defending their total. Chester bowled in a manner that suggests he has been woefully underused in the last few seasons, whilst Orr with his deceptively slow paced deliveries caused difficulty for the batsmen. At around 40 for 4 off 8 overs the match looked evenly balanced. However finding 5 bowlers from the Bar line up was always going to be a challenge, and things got worse when, stretching to stop a leg side wide, Harthan’s lower back went into spasm and he had to crawl off the pitch. With fewer fielders and Orr & Chester gone from the attack, the oppo found the going a little easier. “Team United” reached their target without further loss and with a few overs to spare.
All in all a satisfactory start to the Bar’s LMS campaign, though seasoned observers of the game have already highlighted the need to have 5 bowlers as one of the main obstacles on the Bar’s road to Barbados.
The Bar were concerned that the oppo looked quite useful in their warm up. Having lost the toss the Bar were put into bat. Chester and Armstrong opened against a bowler who, in breach of Rule G (perhaps the Bar skipper should’ve spotted it at the time), wandered all the way back to Otterspool to begin his run up. Playing with a pink ball which seemed to do a bit more in the air than the more traditional dull red corky, the openers built a steady platform off the first few overs before Chester fell. Harthan then came to the crease. Despite an early disagreement arising from Armstrong’s failure to properly understand Rule B (the “Double Play Rule") the Harthan/Armstrong partnership frustrated the opposition. In an unusual twist of roles, Harthan, who has a steady average of 1 six per season throughout his cricket career, hoiked a couple of balls deep onto the bowling green whilst Armstrong struggled to find his usual big hitting form. Even when Armstrong did find the middle of the bat, and in scenes reminiscent of Carpenters last year, he found Harthan at the non-strikers end a capable fielder. In something of an indignity for the 2010 player of the season, at one point the oppo’s skipper was setting a deep field for Harthan and closing the field for Armstrong. In the last 5 or so overs the Bar began to attack the bowling in a more flamboyant style. Unfortunately, rather than the hoped for acceleration to a par score, the wickets began to tumble. Armstrong and Tinkler departed in quick succession, Harthan was then caught at deep mid on, Orr and Eastwood went in the final couple of overs leaving Sinker to successfully fend off the final few deliveries and avoid the eponymous last man standing scenario.
Notwithstanding the suspicion that the oppo’s batting line up might have given priority to their weaker players, the Bar got off to a good start in defending their total. Chester bowled in a manner that suggests he has been woefully underused in the last few seasons, whilst Orr with his deceptively slow paced deliveries caused difficulty for the batsmen. At around 40 for 4 off 8 overs the match looked evenly balanced. However finding 5 bowlers from the Bar line up was always going to be a challenge, and things got worse when, stretching to stop a leg side wide, Harthan’s lower back went into spasm and he had to crawl off the pitch. With fewer fielders and Orr & Chester gone from the attack, the oppo found the going a little easier. “Team United” reached their target without further loss and with a few overs to spare.
All in all a satisfactory start to the Bar’s LMS campaign, though seasoned observers of the game have already highlighted the need to have 5 bowlers as one of the main obstacles on the Bar’s road to Barbados.