Beating the Weather with the Comets

Many thanks to the Dunfermline & Carnegie Comets who hosted the Gladiators Kwik cricketers this morning. Around 28 players from both clubs, with four very close matches played. Below are the summary of the two games umpired by Team Gladiators.

First game saw the two skippers Finlay (Comets) and Scott (Gladiators) do battle over the coin toss, with Scott coming out victorious with his "tails never fails" shout - and Gladiators choosing to bat first.

Cormac for the Comets struck first, bowling Joe third ball. Whilst a boundary four to Joe in the second over and then a six to Alex in the fourth over, it was slow accumulation amongst all the other batters - the Comets bowling a bit slower and wider, proving hard to attack. The fifth over was to see the big shift though, as Jennifer first bowled Dylin (outside edge on to the off stump) then Sam got himself run out twice in three balls through not grounding his bat. Gladiators finished on 53 for 4 wickets.

Jennifer was quickly back in to the game, opening the batting in the second innings - a six and two straight hit fours were fantastic shots, and Comets well ahead in the run rate with 22 without loss from 2 overs. But it was to be the Gladiators who took hold off the game, with Alex bowling the fourth resulting in him getting two wickets (one bowled and the other caught and bowled) along with Samuel getting a run out. Archie followed up in the 5th over with a further wicket (bowled) and then Joe was unlucky to miss out on a hat-trick after getting a bowled and then a caught and bowled in consecutive deliveries. Last pair Cormac and Benjamin knew they needed lots of runs to get back in the game and did well, though Dylin was pleased to bowl the latter in the 7th over, before Comets finished on 56 for 7 wickets.

With each wicket taken whilst bowling resulting in 5 bonus runs, final scores were Gladiators 88 for 7 against Comets 76 for 4 - a win for the Gladiators, but one which showed the value in not losing too many wickets!

The second game saw a number of changes with both teams, with Archie leading the Gladiators. Comets skipper Rehaan opened the batting with Cameron and both got off to a good start, posting 22 for no wickets from their 2 overs. All Gladiators bowled (generally) stayed straight and bowled well, but it was to be Joe who through of will, took control of the game. Bowling the third over, he first ran out Cormac with an excellent direct it, had Jan caught behind by Amy off a faint edge and then bowled Cormac off the last ball - 3 wickets and no runs conceded. Max was well run out by Joe in the 7th over, but the Gladiators umpire gave it not out to be kind. But it was Joe again claiming a run out off the last ball of the innings, Comets finishing on 43 for 4 wickets from their 8 overs.

A risky call for a single by Amy off the second ball of the second innings saw Joe run out, but he struck a boundary four of his last ball to get some recovery going. Scott was then run out in the fourth over, before he also got some revenge with a big six over square leg - Gladiators 27 for 2 wickets from 4 overs compared to Comets 26 for 3. Skipper Rehaan then claimed two wickets in the fourth over with Archie being unlucky to be bowled off a wide ball kicking back in to the stumps and bouncing three times (so strictly speaking a no ball, but benefit of the doubt given to the bowler). Last pair Sam and Krithika were able to see off the last two overs without further loss to see Gladiators finish on 45 for 4 wickets.

As before, 5 bonus runs for each wicket meant final scores were Comets 63 for 4 versus 65 for 4 for the Gladiators - so a narrow win for the Gladiators.

Well done to both teams for some good cricket played, and thanks to the Comets for hosting.