Action CC 2015
23/09/20 12:53 Filed in: 2015
With the sun still high in the sky and an artificial wicket that would not deteriorate, on winning the toss Harthan would have elected to have the benefit of knowing rather than setting a target. However, given that just 3 Bar players had made it to Aigburth for 6.30, and given that only 2 of those had changed into LMS kit, the decision to bat was very much forced on the skipper. Chester and Harthan got the innings off to a brisk start, the former hitting some big boundaries in impressive style. Chester retired on his unbeaten 50 with the Bar well placed. Harthan looked set for another entry on the bat shoulder, however he was caught on the boundary on 40. There then followed a bit of a stutter in the innings, Tinkler fell to a stunning caught and bowled, Orr was still all at sea for his brief time at the wicket. Armstrong shone brightly, particularly with a towering 6 which cleared not just the fence but the trees beyond, but sadly he did not last long afterwards. Prior and, perhaps more surprisingly, Eastwood, then piled on the runs in the closing overs of the innings. Prior played some powerful shots which zipped to the boundary, Eastwood’s boundaries at least looked the same in the scorebook. The Bar set a target of 154.
So confident was skipper Harthan that enough runs had been scored that he felt it necessary to remind the Bar that every run counts in LMS and that there were bonus points available for a convincing win, although he was unable to recall the precise details of the bonus point system. However it was soon clear that Action CC were going to make a game of it. Their opening batsmen scored freely off Chester and kept out the consistent bowling of Saad. Prior was brought into the attack but was unable to stem the flow of runs, albeit the Bar was somewhat unlucky (or arguably it was poor field placing) in that several mis-controlled shots in the air landed safely for the batsmen. Orr and Armstrong were brought on and Harthan called for the Bar’s first ever use of the “Power play” rule, which, frankly, was a bit of a disaster. Action were looking likely to get home with comfort however in the penultimate over Orr struck with a well held caught and bowled. This brought a nervous looking Action batsman to the crease who prodded and poked at the next few balls with little effect. With 7 required off the last 6 balls it was looking finely balanced, however consecutive 4s saw Action home with 4 balls to spare.
The two spectators were once again given excellent entertainment with over 300 runs scored on the evening and a relatively close game, albeit the result ultimately a disappointing one for the Bar.
So confident was skipper Harthan that enough runs had been scored that he felt it necessary to remind the Bar that every run counts in LMS and that there were bonus points available for a convincing win, although he was unable to recall the precise details of the bonus point system. However it was soon clear that Action CC were going to make a game of it. Their opening batsmen scored freely off Chester and kept out the consistent bowling of Saad. Prior was brought into the attack but was unable to stem the flow of runs, albeit the Bar was somewhat unlucky (or arguably it was poor field placing) in that several mis-controlled shots in the air landed safely for the batsmen. Orr and Armstrong were brought on and Harthan called for the Bar’s first ever use of the “Power play” rule, which, frankly, was a bit of a disaster. Action were looking likely to get home with comfort however in the penultimate over Orr struck with a well held caught and bowled. This brought a nervous looking Action batsman to the crease who prodded and poked at the next few balls with little effect. With 7 required off the last 6 balls it was looking finely balanced, however consecutive 4s saw Action home with 4 balls to spare.
The two spectators were once again given excellent entertainment with over 300 runs scored on the evening and a relatively close game, albeit the result ultimately a disappointing one for the Bar.