United upbeat despite Kempton loss

The team and their skipper, Justin Gamble, always knew they would face a mountain of a task against a Kempton team featuring a number of semi-professional (amateur) players, including the likes of all-rounder Grant Thompson, who made his debut for The Unlimited Titans, in the Sunfoil Series, last season.

Batting first, the team from the Barnard Stadium set a target of 264 runs, conceding five wickets in their allotted 50 overs.

Opener Wesley Marshall (91) was the top performer for the defending champions, while his brother, Kyle (49), was the next best batsman.

It was United’s skipper, Justin Gamble, who was the pick of the team’s bowlers.

He managed figures of 2/31 (including two maiden overs) in his 10 overs, while newcomer to the team Oswaldo De Sousa and Kevin Hinton each picked up one wicket.

When United’s batsmen came in to bat they struggled against a disciplined and experienced Kempton Park bowling attack.

The team could muster only 120 runs in 37.2 overs as wickets fell on a regular basis.

This would ensure a 143-run win for the home team.

Despite the loss, team manager Des Gamble said a number of positives would be taken from the team’s performance, particularly in the field, where the players showed great energy.

“The energy levels were certainly up on last year and I think we did relatively well to restrict that mighty Kempton batting line-up to 263,” he added.

According to Gamble, the one disappointment during the bowling display was the number of wide deliveries that were bowled, an area that needs to be worked on.

“On the batting side, we failed to get to grips with a disciplined attack that bowled excellent lines and lengths.

“There wasn’t a bad ball from the Kempton bowlers.”

The team manager added that the team will not let the result get to the team and they will take no prisoners when they meet last year’s bottom dwellers, Tembisa, at Willowmoore Park, on Sunday, October 12.

The first delivery is scheduled for 9.30am.