RCC 2s record a third win in a row dispatching Southern Railway & Kenley convincingly
RCC won the toss and decided to bat. Roehampton 218 for 8 in 45 overs (R. Cameron 63, H. Gunasekara 49, D. Cameron 39 not out). Southern Railway 137 all out in 43.2 overs. (R. Cameron 3 for 29, D. Cameron 2 for 11, A. Naumann 2 for 22, J. Purnell 2 fo
A solid victory for Roehampton 2s was built on a fine performance from the Cameron twins as well as a great team effort in the bowling and fielding departments from all the players.
The 2s have a simple plan in this limited over format of the game – win the toss, bat first, keep wickets in hand, accelerate in the last 10-15 overs and then close out the game with the ball. 3-4 solid partnerships are usually enough to set a challenging total of 170+ and then teams batting second have to chase with the pressure of the weight of runs.
With the loss of two early wickets in RCC’s innings, the middle order had to be juggled around to steady the ship. A fine partnership of 88 between H. Gunasekara and R. Cameron did enough to get things back on track. This was followed by a further stand of 36 between the Cameron brothers and then 23 between Pete Dandy and Dave Cameron. Batting this way takes the pressure of any one individual and turns the game into a team activity. Dave Cameron timed his innings to perfection. He played steadily at first, getting used to the track before dominating the bowling in the last handful of overs. Southern Railway were left the formidable target of 219 to win.
In the field, Ross Cameron returned to something near his best form with the ball – hitting the top of off stump three times to put Southern Railway onto the back foot. A fine knock of 57 from M Gillon provided the only real resistance to the RCC seam attack of Messrs Cameron, Naumann, Purnell and Cameron (sounds like a crap law firm…), but when he went the 2s cruised to a decent win.
Next week the limited over format is changed to a declaration game. 10 wickets will be needed for a win, or tactics will need to change, and RCC will need to chase down a target. Batting under pressure; the traditional Achilles heel of the 2s. Let’s hope the Seconds can maintain their excellent momentum of the last three weeks and slay that particular dragon.
Man of the match: R. Cameron.
(report by H. Gunasekara)