November 12 - Match Summary Courtesy of Somerset Oakes.
The Pumas won the toss and elected to bat on what was predicted to be a low and slow pitch. They started off with a bang as the first ball was mercilessly cut for four, add to that a couple of half volleys which were smeared to the boundary and the Pumas were well on their way.
An over of miss-fields and a dropped catch didn’t help either and had Biff sneering from the one end, all of the Oakes too scared to make eye contact with the burly opening bowler! The outlook was a long day chasing leather for the Oakes.
As the cricket saying goes, “one brings two” … and as we know things can happen very quickly on a cricket field, this day proved no different as one brought a lot more than two… Losing their first wicket on 21, Biff started the collapse by bowling their opening bat, claiming his leg stump while playing a cut shot…. Andre (Lefty) Lombard followed up a few overs later, claiming his first scalp to make the total 39/2.
Then it all just happened! Chaos ensued as Andre claimed a further 4 wickets - LBW’s, bowled and catches taken, to end up with excellent figures of 5 for 20 in his 7 overs. The pumas all out for 64 in 18.3 overs.
Bowling for the Oakes: overs wkts runs • Pierre-Henry (Biff) 5 1 23 • Andre (Lefty) 7 5 20 • Johan (Silo) 3 2 12 • Herman 2 1 6 • Nico 1.3 1 3
Chasing 64 seemed easy enough, we thought…. Our “top 3” batsmen didn’t manage to bother the scorers & at 5/3, things seemed not so easy anymore…. Our nervous debutante Jan-Dirk (20*) joined stalwart John (21*) at the wicket at 27/5 and along with our 3rd highest scorer Extra’s (18*) they managed to get the Oakes over the line in the 14th over.
The scoreboard might read that the Oakes won by 5 wickets but the nature of the pitch could have easily swung the result the other way. In hindsight the Pumas skipper Michael perhaps shouldn’t have replaced himself and Bertie so soon, as the initial damage was all done by them.
A beautiful field with an amazing backdrop. With a bit more play and preparation on the pitch this will be one of the favourite venues in the FCA in years to come!
Many thanks to skipper Michael and the rest of his Pumas team for the day. Although the game was done by 14H00, the fines and boeries afterwards were brilliant – Bertie’s secret sauce made the day even more special. Thanks for being awesome hosts and we look forward to having you guys at our fields next season.
Man of the match goes to Andre “Lefty” Lombard for his 5 wickets!
