Match report:
Hatrick for Hewa
On a warm and clear day Entrecasteaux were delighted to welcome Riviera and with the outfield wearing a good covering it was an important toss to win; Riviera had no hesitation in electing to bat when they called correctly.
After 2 overs with the score at 4 for 2 wickets it looked as though they had made a terrible mistake as Gregory (7-1-28-1) had Rana (0) bowled for a duck in the first over and, not to be outdone, Anthony Slack (6-0-40-1) had Julian (1) well caught by Riviera’s substitute fielder for Entrecasteaux, JJ Bloom, at a shortish mid wicket.
But if Entrecasteaux thought they were in for an early tea they were sorely mistaken for they had only found the heart of the Riviera innings. Romi (11) held his own before being removed in the fifteenth over by Sahan Hewa (7-0-31-4) who had replaced Gregory at the Garden House end when the score had had reached 30. Brad (65) had been joined by Andy (35) and with the sun shining they made hay in a partnership of 116. It was not that they were facing part time bowlers and they were not in a smash and grab mode. They just batted very well and kept accumulating the runs.
There then occured one of those magical overs which makes this game so addictive. Hewa in his sixth over, and the innings’ twenty fourth over, with most of the Entrecasteaux fielders just going through the process, he had Andy caught at deepish mid off by Glen Burrell. The batsmen had had the time to cross and with his next delivery Brad holed out to mid wicket. So it was that with his steam up Hewa charged in for his hatrick ball and bingo, the ball crept under Hunt’s (0) bat and removed his middle peg. Hewa had his hatrick and removed Riviera’s heart!
Burrell (6-0-38-2) had Tony Bloom (14) and Imtiaz (7) both caught and with Alek (10 n.o) and JJ Bloom (0 n.o.) the Riviera innings closed on 185 for 7 after their allotted 35 overs. How come such a total? The Entrecasteaux bowlers will be disappointed to read that the second highest scorer was ‘extras’ with 42. An element which must be addressed if Entrecasteaux’s attack is to be taken seriously.
But surely 186 was attainable, even with the outfield so slow. Yes but where was Shirley? Burrell (17) opened with Slack (0) who didn’t look in form and holed out for a duck off the bowling of Alek (3-0-8-1) which brought Chaminda Perera (89) to the crease. When Burrell was caught at mid off from the bowling of Rana (7-0-10-1) Perera needde his Shirleys. But the batsmen were contained by some accurate and testing bowling. As well as Rana’s very impressive spell of medium pace and an excellent length, Saffir (7-1-24-2) bowled his seven overs for just 24 runs.
The pressure was building and so Perera, bravest of the brave, took them on, throwing his bat at anything wayward. But he needed more troops, he couldn’t just make them. Hewa (2), Gregory (1) and Yannick Perera (2) all failed. Only Fife (24 n.o.) was able to assist as Perera led his charge in the heat of the battle, but he too was finally slain to a well taken catch on the deep mid wicket boundary and with another 22 runs required the 35 overs were bowled.
Entrecasteaux had lost by a score considerably less than the extras scored – oh dear.
Entrecasteaux XI : Chaminda Perera, Yannick Perera, Glen Burrell, Anthony Slack, Sahan Hewa, Clifford Gregory,Sir Leonard Terry, Oliver Lecomte, Johnny Standin, Andy Fife
Umpire: Maurice Mitchem
