Bulls vs Sale

The Bulls bowled and fielded as well as they have all season, particularly Henrik for whom the ball was coming out nicely (4-1-10-4), with the rest of the wickets shared between Dan, Qasim and Max. Fielding was tight and extras down to a minimum. A strong Sale team was restricted to 61-9 which was a great achievement.

The Bulls opened with Max and Taha and whilst the former was bang on form (with new bat going well), Taha was bowled for a duck to a full straight one. Dan came in and went quietly about his business whilst Max flayed it to all parts before going big once too often, caught and bowled. 24 all in boundaries. 28-2 so pretty much half way there with 16 overs to go; put simply 2 an over with 8 wickets left. Easy, or so the boys thought.

The opposition were sneaky in that they bowled at the stumps and it was getting darker but thereafter followed unnecessary run outs and painfully few shots that reflected both the bowling and match position. All out for 48 with 10 (yes 10) overs to spare, the last 8 wickets for 20! NB There is no shame in defending a good ball.

5 ducks, 2 run outs chasing 61 at 3 an over. .......

I think we thought it was in the bag, switched off and paid the price. Sale left delighted as well they might, whilst we left hurting or at least I hope so. Its not the end of the world but the boys can and should learn from this.

11 ducks in a match, surely some kind of record?

The match finished at 7.55 and 5 minutes later the bar finally opened for refreshments, just as the home and visiting parents headed off. Not sure what Lord Sugar would make of that!

Two more games to go....