RCC achieved a winning draw on run-rate

A rain affected match against the league leaders left RCC digging in to achieve a winning draw in the final overs.

The rain came down periodically over the day and left the teams scratching around trying to see if a game could be negotiated in the drizzle. With both teams towards the top of the league, getting a result was in everyone’s interest, but ultimately a share of the points was a fair result in the trying circumstances.

Winning the toss and bowling in the damp conditions, RCC just couldn’t get the half chances to fall to the fielders. Balls looped in the air off the bat but dropped safely. Very difficult half chances just didn’t stick. With a surge of hitting just in the last few overs of their innings Battersea posted what turned out to be a decent score of 142 in their 33 overs reduced from 52.

In the run chase the 2s lost wickets periodically and couldn’t manage to cut down the target. Battersea bowled with venom, on a disintegrating pitch that was being hacked to pieces by bowlers follow-throughs and batsmen taking guard further and further away from the quagmire. Only Marc Moderegger (38) played with any sort of fluency. Ultimately a draw was a fair result with both teams having tried their utmost to force a victory.

With very few positive results across the competition the league table remains ‘as you were’. RCC stick in joint 3rd: http://surreycountyleague.play-cricket.com/leaguetables/divisionTable.asp?id=2451&seasonID=26
The day also underlines again the competitive nature of the division where any team can beat any other on any given day.

Special mention has to go to Jason Pawluk for umpiring with a huge amount of common sense and managing to give each side a possibility of victory by putting on a game in the most difficult of conditions.

Man of the match – Jason Pawluk.
(report by Hemish Gunasekara)