Vets just fall short of Reigning Champs
Clear skies and a fine forecast for Round 2 promised a great day of cricket. And that’s what we got. The HA Smith Reserve outfield had dried out a bit from the previous fortnight. It still looked as mottled and bumpy as the Himachel Pradesh Stadium in Dharamsala, though the backdrop is less attractive.
This was a much-anticipated match up with the winners of last year’s Vets competition and OX was keen to show Mont Albert we are real contenders.
They won the toss and decided to bat. We stretched, rolled our arms, loaded up on anti-inflammatories and were ready to go.
The first 18 overs was a tight display of line and length bowling that kept Mont Albert to 2/71 at the drinks break, supported by some good chasing in the field.
Bernie Heaphy got the initial breakthrough with a snick to Michael Meehan behind the stumps. And then Paul Thomas and Mick O’Dea put the screws on to keep the runs down, both finishing their six overs with a wicket each and an economy rate of around 3 runs per over.
The other bowling highlight was Rich Booth who only went for nine runs off his 4 overs. A mesmerising spell that will haunt the Mont Albert captain’s dreams for the rest of the season.
Rich laid the groundwork for Bernie to pick up another two wickets – finishing with 3/39 – after Mont Albert realised they had to take a few risks to push the score to something defensible. And Simon Martin chipped in with a tidy five overs to keep the pressure up.
With 172 runs to chase, OX were ready to unleash the next part of the strategy. Jerome Whelan had been off the field nursing a calf injury but was the designated hitter to open and set us up with a quick start to the innings. The theory was good, but things didn’t go quite to plan.
John Harden kept a cool head after Jerome’s dismissal and put on a 50-run partnership with Pete McGarry. At this point we were tracking nicely and Mont Albert realised they had a proper fight on their hands. But then Pete was out for 25 looking to hit their first change bowler onto the Monash Freeway, John followed shortly after, also for 25, and the momentum shifted.
Michael Meehan worked the ones and twos, looking solid. But Mont Albert were able to tie us up and slow the scoring. We went to the drinks break at 3/70. The game was still evenly poised but we knew we had to move things along or risk falling well short.
When Thommo and Sam Nunan were out after drinks we were 5 for 82, or thereabouts, and Mont Albert thought they were back in control. But it’s a funny game, and when Hugh Martin joined Michael the run rate was soon back up and the equation was changing again.
These two pushed the quick singles and added a few boundaries before Michael was out for 20. When Simon Martin joined Hugh at the crease we still needed around eight runs an over to win. The Martins hustled to keep the momentum going until Hugh was bowled for 26.
And then in comes the skipper. Dave played a lovely little innings of 22 off 18 balls – exactly what was required. With assistance from Simon, Mick and Bernie he got us to within four runs of the win.
All up it was a terrific, whole of team effort. And while we’ll go into round three still without a win, we know we have the capability and confidence to match it with anyone in the comp.
