Titans 4 Southshore 2...

The trophy for our series with Southshore will remain in Titans hands as we went up 4-2 in the series. Their spectators and fans seem hell bent on revenge and their is talk of beating us silly in the next friendly match after the season...based on our record in friendlies...well they may just be...lets not go there in fact.

The fact is we won another critical match and are now just two points behind 2nd place Jammers. Opting to bat first we would have fancied 180-200 on such a nice track with the biggish boundaries, but 168 provided to be enough as we bundled out the opposition for a meagre 107...all said though take a lesson from their last two partnerships as they went from 40 odd for 7 to 107/10.

Let's start from the top down...team leaders/ veterans first.

Paul - 7.5 (1.0 batting, 2.5 fielding, 3.0 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Batted OK through the middle overs, but did not carry on after getting a start and also missed several double opportunities due to lazy running. Fielding was not tested. Bowling was spectacular 9 overs a few maidens and five wickets...including a hat trick. The hat-trick ball is an obvious nominee for MAGIC MOMENT. A good day for the skipper.

Tanmay - 6.0 (0 batting, 2.5 fielding, 2.5 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Batting was cut short due to an incredible reflex catch at square leg. Bowling was economical but he needed to pry out the last two wickets and did not. Looked good in the field. We expect much more with the bat from our Vice and he almost showed his talent as he was much more his usual aggressive self in this brief knock...that bodes well for the future.

Tiki - 5.0 (0 batting, 2.5 fielding, 1.5 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Another full toss ended his innings again with a clear cut LBW. Keeping was special...with a remarkable stumping that started the hat-trick wickets for Paul. Bowling was too short and his good ones were surprisingly well negotiated by the two set batsmen. The drop at first slip to seal the match cost him a point in the fielding category..but ge gains half back for the run-out and stumping. Needs to bat for some time and thereby get some runs.

Wazza - 7.5 (1.5 batting, 2.0 fielding, 3.0 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Touch and go LBW decision...to most it looked to be quite a bad one. Fielding was good until a touch chance at first slip went begging. Bowling was tremendous with 2 wickets, great economy and a fair amount of times unplayable. No doubt the pressure on both ends resulted in the combined seven wickets for the new ball pair...what a bowling tandem this one is turning out to be.

Chuck - 6.0 (2.5 batting, 2.5 fielding, 0 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Batting looked like the Chuck of old with on drives and cover drives and just plain hard running . Unfortunately the bowling was also the Chuck of old..it was plain terrible and has probably sealed his fate to be the part time keeper and open bat role now. His keeping up to the stumps needs a lot of work too.

Dalip - 6.0 (0 batting, 2.0 fielding, n/a bowling, 4.0 discretionary)
Failed to get going with the bat...bound to happen occassionaly with his approach. His throwing has been a consistent worry...it's an area that needs improvement.

Rakesh - 8.5 (2.0 batting, 2.5 fielding, n/a bowling, 4.0 discretionary)
Batting was exceptional in application as he concentrated hard and built a good partnership with the skipper . A good start was not capitalized on but by staying at the crease he ensured that the target to defend was a good one and did his job decently on the day.

Umair - 6.0 (0 batting, 2.5 fielding, n/a bowling, 3.5 discretionary)
Lost the plot at the end...his job was to go and bat out the 45...I said it many times to him, but then he went out and decided to swing to the high heavens. I spoke with him after and now he gets it...I think. Bala and Reddy's job is to swing...it is also their natural games. Umair and Gowtham are the solid bats to get us through 45. We could have easily achieved this if he had kept his head and made use of the 24 balls left 0n the table...if we had even gotten 12 runs...we would have made a respectable 180.

Bala - 6.0 (0 batting, 2.5 fielding, 2.5 bowling, 1.0 discretionary)
Fielding was good. Did not get going with the bat this time. Bowled well and deserved the final wicket. Needs to work on getting that wicket earlier though.

Gowtham - 8.0 (1.5 batting, 2.5 fielding, n/a bowling, 4.0 discretionary)
Again...fielded really well at silly throughout most of the game. Came not out as is the plan for him. I am impressed with the improvement of this youth.

Reddy - 7.0 (0 batting, 3.0 fielding, n/a bowling, 4.0 discretionary)
Fielded great and initiated a crucial run out. He did nothign with the bat, but it was a good effort again from this youth.

6-3-1 two wins in a row, two points out of second place, the bowling continues to be dominant and the new look order is stirring to life every so slightly. This week was essentially another top order failure, but the middle order stayed the course and got things back on track. Stay tuned for next week's blog that I suspect may contain many complimentary comments on our new & improved batting order. Coach will have lots to say to the bats this Wednesday.