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WOMBATS HIT BACK TO ALMOST SNATCH CUP
by Courtney Jones
Playing 2 games in 2 days was never going to be easy, especially with game 2 scheduled for a 9am start, but the Wombats manged to lift their weary, hungover bodies off the KRAC floor and to the ground on time. I don’t remember who won the toss, maybe the Wombats because the first thing I was aware of was standing at gully with Luke bowling the first over of the day and if we won the toss I would have fielded.
Luke started with a maiden. Pup also began well if not a little down on his usual pace. It was warm and most of the Wombats were as dry as the lunar surface after the previous nites overconsumption so the vibe in the field was unusually mellow. Russel started where he finished the previous day by placing any bad ball between the fielders for 4 and Samir was smashing anything on the stumps out of the park. The high scoring ground and slpppy Wombats fielding saw KRAC move to 0-60 off 8 overs.
Another big score loomed but in the eternal words of Ray Parker Jnr. When your getting cained and it don’t look good. Who ya gonna call? Bladderbuster! The 2007 Golden Thong winner did what he almost always does and produced a wicket immediately by enticing Samir to go for another six but instead top edging to Kyal at deep point for the easiest of catches. Buckets and Russel then played solidly until drinks to be 1-108. Drinks couldn’t come around fast enough as my mouth felt like a desert and my tongue a sand dune.
Chuck and Whisk bowled after drinks and in the space of seven balls, what followed was possibly the worst display of missed catches ever. I say missed, not dropped because you have to get hands on the ball to actually call it dropped! Firstly, Alex at a square mid wicket used all his agility to get in the vicinity of a skied top edge that plonked to the gravel at sqaure leg. Next over, Whisk had a premonition that he would get a caught wicket in his over. Well, he could have had 4! A skied slog that went straight up and back to the bowler looked like our second wicket for sure as Whisk yelled “mine!” and raised his hands to the heavens to gobble the offering. Incredibly, the ball meekly plonked to the ground behind Whisk who blamed the sun for his miss. Next ball another skier to long on had Curly charging in way too fast and far off the boundary and he ended up watching the ball lob over his head and into the fence. Next up was Pup who simply didn’t have the strength in his body or gumption to get to another top edge, this one to long off. The best miss was saved for last though as Luke at cow corner acrobatically threw himself through the air at something, I dunno what?, maybe a butterfly passing by because he launched himself away from the ball instead of toward it! Very funny stuff. Me and Kyal watching this botch job unfold off 6 balls from the other side of the ground could only deal with it in one way-with laughter!
Curly was given the job of bowling us through to the death and he did it beautifully to pick up 4-38 off 7 overs. He also ran out McKenna with a direct hit from side on. That’ll teach Rob to take a quick single to the freshest guy on the ground! Chuck snagged 3 expensive wickets at the end and KRAC finished their 35 overs on 9-239. A little light I thought, but with the Wombats needing to score the runs off 30.4 overs to get their net run rate over KRACs and thus win the tournament it was going to be a very close chase.
The Wombats started poorly as Bjorn was out fourth ball of the innings, LBW leaving to a Pat inswinger. Pup came in at #3 and put together a fine partnership with Dino. Pup was driving powerfully and looked set for a really big score but on 40 he swished at one that flew straight up for Rob McKenna to show the Wombats how to catch. Whisk in his customary #4 spot looked his usual authoritative self in his last game for the club. 3 trademark off drives for 4 in one over highlighted another solid partnership with the increasingly aggressive Dino. Whisk fell for his club carreer average of 41 to a spectacular catch by the keeper McKenna. Chuck joined Dino at 3-170 with the runrate required for tournament victory at about 10 per over.
Dino and Chuck kept in touch with that rate and with 26 runs needed off 16 balls on a small, highscoring ground it was even money. Pat returned to finish out his spell and bowled a cheap over and Dave from the other end also sent down a miserly over plus removed the set Dino, LBW for a valuable 73. The equation was suddenly down to 16 runs required off 4 balls with Chuck on strike to Daves last over. First ball was a full toss that was dispatched over cow corner for 6. 10 needed off 3 balls and Dave bowls a bouncer that gets called a no-ball so the equation is now 9 off 3. A leg glance for 2 and 7 now needed off 2 balls. Chuck got one right in the slot which was hit hard into the gap at square leg but excellent fielding from Buckets cut off the boundary and kept it to only 1 run. So down to one ball and a six needed to take the 2007 Hardy’s Kobe Challenge. Every batsmens dreamed of this one. With big Roy on strike a 6 was very possible, however Dave Gleeson was up to the challenge and bowled a full ball which Roy couldn’t get under and the Wombats settled for a single. Chuck hit a 6 two balls later to win the game for the Wombats but unfortunately not the tournament.
Chasing 240 in 31 overs was an admirable performance and finishing the tournament winning one game each was an appropriate reflection of the evenness of the two teams. However, the winner of the 2nd annual Hardy’s Kobe Challenge was KRAC by the barest margin of .002 net run rate. After 135 overs, almost 1000 runs, countless beers, vodkas, numerous highlights and truly memorable lowlights for the winner to come down to a margin of 2 balls and a miniscule run rate difference was incredible.
The Wombats and KRAC have now won one Kobe Challenge each and I’ve no doubt that this fact will really add interest and motivation for next year and beyond.
What a great weekend! It was well organised, we had perfect weather, wonderful facilities, two evenly matched teams, spirited on and off field performances and new friendships made to boot. It doesn’t get much better.Thanks Russel and all the Kobe crew who made the weekend happen and looking forward to many more future Kobe Challenge Cups.
