The sun was shining and the sky was blue as Brigands welcomed Stragglers of Asia to the Down in their 99th year as a travelling side.
This was a game of 4 quarters as the afternoon unfolded where both teams had their moments.
The visitors won the toss and put the home side into bat. New skipper Ladenburg sent in Whittle and Turner to get the innings off to a quick start but the instructions were misunderstood as Turner fell in the 4th over with the score on 5. Whittle was joined by Jay but scoring was hard with tidy bowling and interesting field positions. Jay followed back to the pavilion with 25 on the board setting the scene for skipper Ladenburg to take centre stage. After 20 overs Brigands were 52-2 meaning the visitors took the first quarter.
The second quarter belonged to Brigands and their skipper who hit a very stylish ton with some exquisite shots and thumping boundaries. The skipper lost partners on the way as Whittle fell after scoring 18 in 28 overs and was followed by Blackburn(5), Wyld(6) and Peach(8). As the skipper retired on 103 Ali was joined at the wicket by Hands with 3 overs remaining. Hands quickly departed leaving Ali and Wood to add 25 runs in the final 11 balls meaning Brigands scored 152-6 in the second set of 20 overs meaning the visitors had to chase 204 to win the game.
As the third quarter began Brigands looked for early wickets but Wood and Hands both struggled for line and length enabling the opening batsmen scored runs too easily. The skipper turned to himself and Ali to bowl some spin but the third quarter belonged to the visitors having scored 100-1 after 19 overs.
As the final 20 overs (and 4th quarter) commenced Brigands needed wickets. Ladenburg picked up his second wicket with a ball that failed to get over ankle height as runs became hard to come by. Ali picked up the third wicket to fall with a catch behind by Peach who had taken over the gloves at tea. A fourth wicket followed as Ali switched to pace and clipped the top the of off stump with his first delivery. With 4 overs left Brigands needed 6 wickets and the visitors needed 32 runs but Turner quickly picked up the 5th wicket as Brigands smelled blood and an unlikely victory. Stearn came onto bowl and picked up the 6th wicket. 2 overs left and 4 wickets needed. The skipper again turned to himself but could only concede a single. One over for Ali to take 4 wickets but it was a maiden as the Stragglers held on for a draw. Brigands had taken the final quarter seeing the opposition at 77-5 but overall the match was drawn.
Excellent effort from all concerned.
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