SOME LADS LOOK A LITTLE RUSTY

By Glen Sands

The 2010 cricket season got underway last Saturday in glorious sunshine when Outcasts travelled to play Scothern in the Lincolnshire League Division One but as was often the case last year the same old batting failings surfaced to plague the Isle side who had bowled and fielded really well earlier in the day.
Opening bowlers Tom Sharpe and Liam McAnaney kept things tight early in nthe Scothern innings and Sharpe produced a terrific direct hit when running out opening batsman Nathan Pearse for seven with the total on eleven. He then induced the other opener Rob Speight into edging a catch to wicket keeper Graham Oxley who kept very well throughout the Scothern innings and it was soon 22 for 3 when Oxley took a second catch this time off McAnaney to send Jon Drabble back to the pavilion. Home skipper Ian Brown and number three batsman Richard Johnson then rallied to take the total to 70 but just when they appeared set to take the game away from their opponents Jason nWhiteley produced a great delivery to deceive Brown who was bowled for 26. Scothern's new signing Ian McGowan, a man in whom they have great hopes, joined Johnson and had made 14 when he was quite superbly stumped by Oxley off Whiteley and suddenly the momentum of the innings was lost. Johnson had reached 48 when he mistimed a shot off Whiteley and was caught at mid wicket by Simon Lewis and that heralded the return of the opening bowlers Sharpe and McAnaney who went on to close out the innings. Simon Lewis took a stunning catch at slip to get rid of Callum Pearse and Joe Tonge, who was outstanding in the field, took a good catch at mid on as Scothern were bowled out for 140 , Sharpe ending with 3 for 30, McAnaney 3 for 22 and Whiteley 3 for 46 for the visitors.
As with the first innings, Outcasts found runs at a premium when Jon Drabble and Ian Brown kept things very tight in the early overs. Simon Lewis was caught at slip by Johnson off Brown having made just two then Oliver Coulman was bowled by the home skipper leaving Outcasts on 15 for 2. That soon became 22 for 3 when Andy Torr was trapped LBW for three and without a run having been added David Hobson was back in the hutch although his dismissal was shrouded in controversy as he appeared to be given out caught off his boot at slip!
Craig McAnaney was out to the very next delivery when he played on to Brown who was then on a hat-trick but it didn't transpire and for a while skipper Mark Coulman and Tom Sharpe began to claw the Isle side back into the game. Coulman was easing himself into reasonable form but then played a loose shot to Richard Johnson and was comfortably caught by Callum Pearse but Sharpe continued to take the game to the home side, cracking a six and two fours before he was caught on the boundary by Nathan Pearse, having made 23. That signalled an end to any brief hopes Outcasts might have had to overhaul the Scothern target and they slumped to 73 all out as Ian McGowan (3 for 8) and Johnson (2 for 29) closed out the innings though it was skipper Ian Brown who took tha plaudits with figures of 9 overs 6 maidens 5 for 9 in a terrific spell.
So Outcasts got off to a poor start to the 2010 season and as has often been the case it was their batting that let them down. In general their bowling and fielding performance was good but a combination of rustiness and poor shot selection saw them slump to a hefty defeat but they will look to improve things on Saturday when entertaining Alford at Hirst Priory when they will hope to put things right.