Hey look! I wrote a thing! Now with added scoreboard!
- Shamsul Kazi
- Nov 6, 2017
- 3 min read
PDCC 10/171(45.5) def Macgregor Vibrants 10/147(30.2)
H. Shahid 6/29(7.2), M Boys 32 & 2/33(10), Kazi 33*
Alright, here we go, I promised you all that I’d need a way to procrastinate and here it is.
We go back to yesterday, to Marchant Park Field 2. Personally, this was the first time I’d played on this Warehouse Cricket field and I was amazed there was a field of this size hiding away in the corner. This was a proper sized ground with threes aplenty for anyone fit enough, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
The Doctors were fielding their strongest batting side in a while with the return of Douglas, Chaudhary, J. Sharma, Boys, Boyd and Whittle completely reshaping the top order. The big omission from this game was the lack of a quality spinner with Panju unavailable for selection.
This would prove important with the pitch looking like a real turner and large boundaries that would challenge any batter’s hitting power.
The toss was won by Macgregor and they elected to field with what was set to be a warm and humid day with the potential of storms in the afternoon set to make it harder to field as the day went on.
Douglas and Sharma opened the batting and were immediately making runs with an errant full toss being slapped away for a boundary. However, both Douglas and J. Sharma would fall early, very close to each other, edging the ball to the keeper.
V. Sharma and K Chaudhary would step up as the next pair but a lack of timing and patience saw Sharma pop up an easy catch and Chaudhary would soon fall after the being struck by the commentator’s curse.
The Doctors were in a spot of bother at 4/52 and it was only further compounded after Boyd was controversially given out after the opposition claimed a catch that appeared to land in front of the fielder at cover. After an on-field discussion, Boyd had no other option but to depart. Leaving the score at 5/59.
Shahid came to the wicket and with Boys the two steadied the ship and put on a 49-run partnership before a mix up in the calling resulted in Boys being stranded and short of his ground, out for 32.
Whittle was the next batsman in, though his stay was short as the ball going down leg clipped the bail, dismissing him for a golden duck. The Shahid and Corrigan partnership would only last 8 runs before the pitch started to play up and Shahid got a ball that skidded on to which he got a leading edge on it straight back to the bowler. The Doctors once again in trouble at 8/116.
Like so many times in Doctors history, it was up to Kazi and Corrigan to salvage something, and salvage they did. It wasn’t pretty but the two managed to scrape the score up to 151, chipping the ball in to gaps to get those twos and threes and punishing the bad ball. This was before Corrigan pulled on to mid-wicket. Leaving Kazi and Pham. Kazi would put on another 20 as Pham held down one end. Pham would then leave one outside off that came in and took his off stump, ending the innings on 171.
At the lunch break, the umpire adjusted the overs in the game, given Macgregor were unable to bowl their allotted 50 overs in time, changing the game to a 46 over game.
The bowling effort started off reasonably with Corrigan taking the first wicket for only 18 runs. However, things would not pan out well from that point on, erratic bowling and smart batting saw the Macgregor total climb, the lack of a spin option showed and come the drinks break Macgregor would be 1/91 after 17 overs, needing a mere 81 runs from 29 overs.
As the summer sun blazed away, the mood was grim, the field was quiet and it seemed inevitable that the winless streak would continue.
A change was needed and Shahid was brought on from the Ellison Road end and would prove to be an immediate success taking a wicket in his first over. Macgregor were 2/92.
Kazi would change from bowling off-spin to mediums and he would dismiss the other set batsman with a ball that was now swinging.
Shahid would take full advantage of this and the Pakistani menace was set loose. Picking up a wicket in his, third, fourth and fifth overs. Meanwhile Boys replaced Kazi from the Gympie road end and he too would join the wicket taking party.
Macgregor would crumble as Shahid took five wickets and Boys took two and it was only fitting that Shahid claimed the final scalp with a hooping inswinger, Macgregor all out for 147. Doctors by 24
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