Twos off the mark.
A SUPERB all-round performance saw Camberley record their first points of the league season against a poor Warlingham side.
James Parrott, Mac Syed and Jordan Gibbs all scored fifties as two significant partnerships helped the hosts recover from 37-3 to post 243 from 48.2 overs.
In reply, Camberley's bowlers performed excellently as a unit as the visitors were bowled out for just 76. There were two wickets each for Jon Cooles, Sean Clamp, Phil West and Sam Holmes, and one for Chris Pike, as well as a fine opportunistic run out by Jordan Gibbs.
On a chilly day, Camberley lost the toss, but captain West was more than happy to open the batting with the recalled George Crowdy, and the two progressed nicely until a mix up saw Crowdy run out for 10 in the fifth over.
West was then the victim of a harsh-looking LBW decision as he advanced down the track, before James Harrison was deceived by a lack of bounce to leave the hosts in danger of collapse.
But Syed proved to be the perfect solution, playing a very selective innings of 64 which included just four fours in 109 balls. He was complimented well by the attacking Parrott, who took advantage of some strange field placings to pepper the boundary, particularly over mid off, as the pair put on 105 before Parrott was bowled for 70.
Just as had happened after Crowdy fell, Parrott's dismissal was followed by two quick wickets; firstly Jon Cooles chipping to mid-wicket for two, before Sam Holmes was bowled for the same score, as Warlingham threatened to get back in the game.
But their hopes of cleaning up the tail cheaply were dashed when Gibbs played a sparkling innings, flaying the ball to all parts as he made his way to 50. Undoubtedly the highlight of his innings was a perfectly executed Dilscoop, which, despite Crowdy's attempts to have it called a dead ball, went straight over the keeper's head for four.
Gibbs' innings, which came from just 44 deliveries, was the main contributor to the partnership of 73 with Syed, who continued to glue the innings together down the order, until he was finally caught in the deep shortly after James Reeves' dismissal. Pike was then bowled, leaving Clamp unbeaten, before Camberley took to the field.
On his first appearance for the twos this season, Cooles wasted no time making his mark, clipping off stump with the fourth ball of the innings.
Clamp also was quick to get into his stride, reminding everyone of why he's been so effective in recent years, bowling disciplined away-swingers and straighter deliveries on his way to producing comfortably his best spell of the season, returning 6-1-20-2.
With the batsmen under pressure at both ends, the need to keep the scoreboard ticking was paramount, something which Dil Amin was aware of. But as he sauntered through for a seemingly easy single, something he wasn't aware of was Gibbs' pick up and throw from point, which cannoned into the stumps prompting the Warlingham number three to walk.
Cooles then hit the stumps for the second time on his way to an impressive 8-1-19-2, before West noticed heavy clouds rolling in.
With only 12 overs having been bowled, and 20 needed to constitute a game, the captain decided to introduce spin to speed the game up, despite the pacemen reducing the visitors to 35-5.
But even though there was a change in bowling style, there was no change in the hosts' dominance, as West and Holmes both picked up quick wickets as the away side completely collapsed to 44-8.
West trapped both of his victims LBW on his way to 4-0-16-2, while Holmes picked up wickets with arguably the two worst balls of an otherwise outstanding spell of 4-2-3-2, one caught at mid-on by West and the other by Syed at deep mid-wicket; a catch which made it 58-9.
With the 20 overs having been bowled, pace was brought back to finish the game off, with Cooles restored at one end and Pike introduced at the other, and it was the latter who bagged the final wicket, completing a resounding victory for the hosts.
In stark contrast to last week against Worcester Park, Camberley's batsmen went on to big scores once they were in, bowled to their plans and backed it up with good catching and fielding; something which should breed confidence for the rest of the season.
West and his men will hope to make it two wins from three away at East Molesey next week, a team who also have one win from two matches so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment