Match 8 - Burnside West

REDS BLOW IT AT BURNSIDE

Monday April 13

A dreaded Reds tradition was revived as the tourists blew the final game of the NZ trip with a middle order collapse of diabolical proportions, after outplaying district club Burnside West Christchurch Uni's Third XI for most of the day.

After first going to the wrong ground, then being delayed while the pitch was finished and the soccer girls had first go at the change rooms, the Reds eventually got under way with skipper Kahn borrowing a lucky 20-cent coin from 'Cletus' Palin to win his first toss of the tour. 'HRH' Harry Martin had to abdicate with elbow soreness soon after being smashed for 17 in his second over, but Tim Cherry refound his mojo to claim two wickets in successive balls, both caught behind by the gleeful Kahn to make it 2-24. 'Cletus' was eventually rewarded for a relentless off-stump line with the key wicket of hard-hitter Thompson who holed out to mid-off, but patient batting by left-handers Cutts and Gillette saw the score edge up to 3-89 in the 27th over on a low and true pitch. Scotland made the vital breakthough by bowling skipper Cutts off his pads, then 'Postie' Powell bulldozed the middle order with a lovely spell of off-spin into the breeze. Ninja leg-spinner Geoff Boyes chimed in with two wickets to send BWCU crashing to 9-119 before some unorthodox hitting by O'Flarety added 24 for the last wicket -- vital runs as it turned out. Bowling honours went to Palin with 2-8 from 8.2 immaculate overs, and Powell, whose 3-23 from 10 destroyed the BWCU innings.

The Reds reply started out at a rattling rate with in-form Jeff Scotland smashing a string of square cuts to the boundary. The score raced to 0-42 after 11 overs before Scotland controversially departed LBW, trying to sweep left-arm spinner O'Flarety, a decision he blamed on bitterness from umpire Hobbs over losing his favourite room-mate. Opener Whittock, Tim Cherry and Mark 'Chopper' Lucas kept the score ticking along and at 3-95 after 28 overs, with Lucas having just taken 10 from off-spinner Thompson's third over, Marx was in his heaven and all was right with the world. Then Thompson started to hit a beautiful length and extract big turn into the breeze, and the brain fades began. Lucas changed his mind mid-stroke about another big hit, jammed the ball into his pad and it ballooned to be caught by the disputatious McGuiness behind the stumps. Powell holed out on the boundary for the second day running trying hit his fellow offie out of the park. The out-of-form Newburn, after groping like a man in a snowstorm for twelve overs, hit his first aggressive shot past cover only to be run out narrowly on a risky second called by partner Kahn. Kahn then sought to make amends by running himself out after cutting a ball straight to backward point. The tale of woe continued when Boyes shuffled in front of his stumps to be trapped LBW to make it 8-109 after the 41st - a disastrous run of 5-14 in the final 13 overs. 'JT' Taylor hit some intelligent shots before chasing a certain wide and nicking it to the keeper. If nothing this at least produced the wobbly of the tour, as JT's bat left the infield several metres ahead of him. 'Prince' Harry's final flurry ended too soon when he was clean-bowled attempting a big drive, leaving the Reds 15 sad runs short with 11 balls remaining.

Match: Reds XI vs Burnside West University CC
Date: Sunday April 12
Venue: Burnside West
Toss: Reds
Weather: Fine, sunny, 19 degrees
Pitch: Low and turning