New Rover Struggle to Set a Tricky Target

Adel chase down a target of 208 with 15 overs and 6 wickets remaining.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, New Rover got off to a reasonable start, with Michael Richmond playing himself in gently and allowing Fahim Khan to hit the majority of the early runs. And, with the exception of one drop and the odd LBW appeal, the New Rover openers looked fairly comfortable. It was not until the tenth over that the first wicket fell, Khan caught behind for 22. In respects to the fall of wickets in the first innings, only being two down for 82 after twenty overs, kept New Rover in a strong position, especially considering how dry and quick the outfield was. 

Despite the opportunity available to build a strong score however, New Rover started to become frustrated and unstuck by the slow, but consistent length spin from Gavin Thorpe. His first wicket came two overs before drinks and by the end of the first innings his figures stood at 4-34. Arguably his most crucial wicket was that of Shaurya Koya, by far the most impressive in New Rover’s batting line up on the day. In the 8 balls he faced before drinks, Koya had clearly already got a feel for the game. Once he was in the zone, Koya’s strike rate was effectively over 100, as in the 49 balls he faced after the drinks break he scored all the runs for his half-century.

Koya hits to the boundary

While Carlo Zanella’s late surge of 31 runs in 26 balls certainly helped, the fall of Koya’s wicket in the fortieth over put the lights out on a large score. A total of 200 runs (New Rover ended 208 all out to be exact) can be defended in typical British weather conditions, but on a dry day at the end of a heatwave it is certainly not the same. Indeed, working well with their home pitch’s pace, Adel reached the finish line within 35 overs.

Adel quickly got ahead of the ball-by-ball comparison with New Rover. With their opener, Tom Harrison carefully building into a big innings, Adel were a modest 10 runs ahead of New Rover at the end of the tenth over. From 45-1 at this point, the home team began to accelerate to a run rate of over 5 and by the twentieth over they were 115-2, 33 runs ahead of New Rover. Within this time and at a similarly impressive strike rate to Koya, Tom Harrison reached his half-century. Furthermore, his 84 prior to being caught at 33.1 overs ensured Adel would reach the target of 208 comfortably. 

Tom Harrison reaches his 50

The result may have appeared inevitable but the speed of victory for Adel was ensured by an unfortunate number of bowling extras and an unforgiving 59 runs in 35 balls from Elliot Audsley. It was evidently not New Rover’s day, but a slightly higher run rate and a little more accuracy in the bowling at home next week could definitely produce a more positive narrative. 

This article can also be found at: New Rover CC