Doctors through to the Grand Final
- Shamsul Kazi
- Mar 5, 2018
- 4 min read
Hammering Bricks 200 (38.1) def by PDCC 6/202 (43.3)
J Sharma 56, K Chaudhary 44, A Panju 37 & 4/36 (7.0), S Kazi 3/29 (7.0)
Match Reports have been few and far between in recent games and that’s mainly because a certain author has been madly trying not to fail a certain rotation. However, we no longer have to worry about that and it’s been full steam ahead since then.
In fact, you may not know but we’ve had a semi-final in the meantime. Well they call it a semi-final however, with only one semi-final between number two and three on the ladder it was more of a qualifying final, or elimination final, or preliminary final, or you get the point, it was anything but what it was called.
And that was true in both literal and metaphorical terms. This game meant a lot more than a C Grade semi to both sides as they vied for the right to play against Peninsula who had breezed through to the big dance having only lost once this season.
The Doctors were to come up against their betters in the well named team Hammering Bricks. The bricks were the only team to have bested PDCC in both encounter during the regular season with a narrow one wicket victory in round two and a 15-run win in round seven after a lower order capitulation by PDCC.
This time, the Doctors were hoping for a better outcome, though it would prove difficult without their talisman in Robert Corrigan, on sabbatical in Sweden. Though there were several large inclusions in leg spinner Abbas Panju making his return and the man himself, Jake Schmidt the wildcard selection. Quick Nilay Jain and opener Jitu Sharma were also back in after stints back in India. Jordan Barker was the last inclusion after remembering his shoes this time.
Without Corrigan, Shamsul Kazi would take over the reins once again holding a 2-1 record in charge this season. The day started off well with Kazi winning the toss and electing to bowl on a traditional Marchant Park deck.
The opening overs proved to be difficult with few opportunities being offered by the HB openers who looked to navigate through uneven bounce and consistent bowling from both ends. Boys and Jain proved unsuccessful in their endeavour, but on the eve of an early drinks break, the change in bowling proved the trick with the dangerous Midson given LBW off an off cutter from Kazi.
The off cutter proved to be the danger weapon with Kazi taking the next two wickets as Himstedt skied a delivery playing across the line and Buckby lobbying one up to Chaudhary at cover, leaving the opposition at 3/88.
They would soon provide a fightback through the middle overs and things only got worse when Chaudhary went down with a knee complaint and had to be taken off the ground. Not even a spectacular arm length catch at point by Barker could change the tide.
But such is the life of a bowler that a bad over can be redeemed in the space of a bowl and that is exactly what Panju did. After being slapped all around the park, with one good delivery Panju bowled the danger man Jeanes and with the next delivery, actually let’s take a tangent to take about the next delivery.
The next delivery is the worst bowl of the game, and yes, I know that’s a big call to make given there was a no ball given for a ball so wide it landed off the pitch. But Panju’s ball somehow seemed worse, a big loopy wrong un that sat up nicely to be smacked across Gympie road that somehow the batsman played over the top of on its way down to hit the pegs.
Anyway, from the dismissal of Jeanes at 196, there was only an extra four runs added as the HB tail collapsed to be all out for 200.
The PDCC reply started off well with the first ball being dispatched by Douglas for a boundary, but though he looked in form, Gus managed to get a bouncer that came on quicker as he tried to pull it away and ended up popping it up to square leg.
Sharma and Panju would then combine for a 109 run stand as they played effortlessly against an attack that had no answer. Though this would come shortly to an end after Sharma brought up his half century. Sensing times were getting desperate and the batsmen sapped of energy from the gruelling heat, the strike bowler, Bakes was brought on with immediate success, as Panju left one that would have gone on to hit the stumps. He would then go on to take the dangerous wicket of Boys two balls later and the dynamics of the game were slowly shifting.
This was only further amplified moments later when a now exhausted Sharma was trapped in front sweeping, the doctors sitting at 4 for 120, still sitting comfy but Hammering Bricks could smell blood.
In stepped Chaudhary. Returning after getting some oval side medical attention (two ibuprofen stat dose) he paired up with Shahid to bring the game to an almost certain victory. Shahid struggled in the early stages, but dug in to preserve his wicket and then eventually managed to find the single to give Chaudhary the strike. Chaudhary in his traditional style smashed the shit out of the ball in every direction, being assisted by the fielders who would drop him twice on his to a quickfire 44.
Shahid and Prakash would then slowly inch the total towards the target and then the man, the myth, the legend, J Schmidt, would come in to steal the glory with an elegant 3 including a smoking hot cover drive to seal the win and getting the doctors to their first ever grand final. Next week at Marchant Park.
