Victory eludes Toti 1st XI against Verulam

By Trevor Campbell

ON Sunday morning, ACC 1st XI came together for their 50 over match against a spirited Verulam side at Toti Oval.

After an energetic warm up session, Toti skipper Jarryd Michaux finally won the toss and the visitors were sent in to bat on a green pitch with conditions looking favourable for the home side.

Bowling:

Once again Kyle Botha opened the bowling. His first ball was a wide half volley which got drilled to boundary. This was not exactly the start Toti were looking for but Kyle followed up with a ripper which found the outside edge of the bat going quick and low to second slip, finding the hands of Kyle Jones who took a superb catch to dismiss Verulam's opening bat for just four. After some wayward bowling by the openers, it took another 14 overs and two bowling changes before Toti were able to dismiss the dangerous Moodley on 60 given out LBW with a great yorker by Jarryd Lombard.

It has to be said that Cameron Mill was again instrumental in the fall of Verulam's wickets when he continued to build pressure as usual. His control and accuracy made it tough to score and the batsman had no option but to go after the bowlers at the other end, resulting in a consistent fall of wickets throughout the innings. Good bowling by the young Jarryd Lombard was also rewarded with the dismissal of two more batsmen for just four runs, leaving Verulam on 97 for five after 24 overs. Verulam's batters lost their heads while their number seven played a cautious innings, slowly building the visitors' tally one run at a time.

The energy on the field was very high on Sunday and the fielding by ACC was sensational, a remark backed up by both coach and opposition. The agility shown by the home side meant runs were difficult to come by and with the spin option of skipper Jarryd Michaux, he proved difficult to deal with. The trio of both Jarryds and Cameron managed to bowl 30 overs for just 83 runs and took six wickets in the process. Kyle Jones was reintroduced at the back end of the attack and was rewarded with two wickets in his seven overs to leave the visitors on 182. P Appanah, Verulam's number 7 was left at the crease having just made his 50.

Run chase:

With a run rate of just 3.6 per over required, the openers Ross Albertyn and the skipper got going early, making it look easy to score runs. It wasn't until just four balls before the half century that Ross was caught, bringing to an end a good opening partnership. Warren Pullock walked out to join Jarryd at the crease but unfortunately only managed 10 before falling to a tight LBW decision which meant Francois Strydom, or Faf to his team mates, strolled out to the middle. Jarryd and Faf continued the chase with a 27 run partnership before the captain was dismissed, being caught on the boundary in an attempt to clear deep square leg for six. ACC's resident funny man Travis Cuff joined Faf and the two showed good form accompanied by some hefty swings by Faf, which ACC has become accustomed to seeing. With the partnership at 41 and both players set, a lapse in concentration meant Travis played all around a straight ball leaving Toti on 125/4.

After Cameron joined Francois at the crease, the two only managed an additional seven runs before Faf fell to an LBW decision, leaving him on 29 runs. With the score at 132, ACC needed only 46 runs for victory and with 17 overs and five wickets remaining, Trevor Campbell met Cameron in the middle but the partnership was short lived when Cameron was caught at mid on trying to go over the inner ring.

With a youthful Janco Hennop joining Trevor at the pitch, the two men continued to slowly make their way towards the total. Trevor who initially struggled with the slow pace of the wicket gave the strike to Janco whenever possible. Unfortunately the young Hennop lost his wicket when he managed to find a thick edge, nicking it through to the keeper for a regulatory dismissal 19 runs short of victory. Kyle Botha and Trevor managed to pull the score closer to that magic number with some quick singles but in the end Kyle's wicket fell to a great, low catch at silly mid off. With ACC needing only 11 runs, Kyle Jones joined Trevor and the two batsmen saw out the end of the over to bring the score within nine. With the return of Verulam's opening bowler D Govender came the last wicket of ACC when Trevor slashed at a wide ball, sending it into the hands of Gully, leaving ACC just eight runs shy of victory.

Although a disappointing result, an inspired pep talk by Desigan left the team in good spirits and everyone enjoyed a drink after the match with some traditional team fines before heading home.

Last week's team: Jarryd Michaux (cpt), Ross Albertyn, Warren Pullock, Francois Strydom, Travis Cuff, Cameron Mill, Trevor Campbell, Janco Hennop, Kyle Botha, Kyle Jones.