It was another sensational day for cricket as VCC took on Sri Lanka CC in the first twenty20 game of the season. Captain Dan won the toss and SLCC were sent in to bat.
The SLCC came out all guns blazing, but both opening batsmen were dismissed (relatively) cheaply, much to the delight of one slightly ego-bruised opening bowler.
Seasoned veteran and all round cult figure at VCC Wolfgang set the precedent in the field, taking a fantastic catch on the boundary at deep cover to send back one dangerous opening batsmen. The blistering pace and bounce of David Clark (1-5) was too much for one SLCC batsmen, causing him to stand on his stumps in what can only be described as the most alpha display at Seebarn that day.
With the opposition taking a liking to pace bowling , the much vaunted spin bowlers of VCC were thrust into the attack. Ram (3-16) bowled with tantalising spin and flight, while captain Dan (1-7) pinned the SLCC batsmen deep in the crease, well and truly putting the clamps on. An excellent outfield catch from Abdullah Khan and a wicket for the wily Wolfgang in the last over of the innings reduced SLCC to 127, and it was our game to lose from there.
Young gun Mark S hyphen P (22) and batting cornerstone Dan Eckstein (24) opened up for VCC, ticking the scoreboard along and putting away the bad, and even not so bad balls before being dismissed. Abdullah Khan (24) was joined at the crease by frequent contributor Wolfgang (10) who both continued scoring above the required rate with some sharp running between the wickets. With sweet victory in sight, Wolfgang’s dismissal brought Ram (22 n.o) into the fold, who played a measured and composed innings to take us over the line despite losing a few quick wickets. The winning runs were fittingly hit by Captain Dan and the celebrations began.
All in all a great day out at Seebarn, VCC much improved in the field and ready to take on the competition!
MJ Henry