Titan

Big Bad

Walt H. Rambaransingh | Date 09/07/14

On an overcast Florida summer afternoon, the Titans continued their 2014 20 over campaign with an away game vs Lauderhill Jammers. Game 2 of the 2014 20 over campaign would be played at Lauderhill Sports Park and would be a good test for the Titans squad. Lauderhill Jammers won the toss and elected to bat first.

Walt & Artma opened the bowling. Walt had a sensational opening over, removing opening batsman Steven Taylor with the first ball of the innings (caught at deep mid-wicket by Chucky) and the 1-down batsman with the last ball of the first over (Wicketkeeper stumping by Skipper Tiki). At the end of the first over, the opposition lost 2 wickets with only 5 runs on the board. Artma struggled a bit in his first over allowing several boundaries on the small ground. He did make some efficient amends in his remaining overs. Tanmay & Errol were the first change bowlers on the day. Tanmay’s spell began in the 6th over and he, too, had a great 1st over, taking 2 wickets. The first was a superb diving catch by Chucky at straight long-off running in at full speed from long-on. The second wicket was an equally superb caught & bowled by Tanmay at ankle height that resulted in a hamstring injury. Deo rounded out the bowling contingent with his first spell of the year taking 1 wicket. The fielding highlights included catches from Chucky & Tanmay and 2 stumping from Skipper Tiki. At the end on the first innings, Jammers scored 140 runs with 5 wickets lost in 20 overs. Titans CC Bowling details of the day are below:

Walt – 4 overs, 0 maidens, 31 runs, 2 wickets, 4 wides.
Artma- 4 overs, 0 maidens, 30 runs, 0 wickets, 2 wides.
Tanmay- 4 overs, 0 maidens, 24 runs, 2 wickets, 3 wides.
Errol- 4 overs, 0 maidens, 19 runs, 0 wickets, 1 wide.
Deo - 4 overs, 0 maidens, 30 runs, 1 wickets, 3 wides.

Chucky & Praveen opened the batting. The opening pair began confidently given that the total was low for such a small ground along with the fact that Titans began with 15 penalty runs on the board due to a late start by the opposition. However, Praveen lost his wicket via LBW with the 3rd ball of the 1st over. 1-down batman Artma soon lost his wicket in the 4th over, after scoring only 1 run. Skipper Tiki came in at 4 & stabilized the batting with Chucky for the next 9 overs. Chucky starting hitting boundaries after a slow start, scoring a solid 62 runs. Chucky lost his wicket in the 13th over after a 74 run 2nd wicket partnership with Skipper Tiki. At the end of the 14th over, the Titans needed 40 runs in the remaining 36 balls. After Tiki lost his wicket, the remaining middle & lower order batting failed, only scoring 20 runs. The only batting highlight was Chucky, but he knew that he should have stayed and finished the chase. Titans CC were all out for 120 runs in 19.2 overs. Titans CC lose by 20 runs. When your 3rd highest scoring batsman on the day was your #10 batsman with 5 runs, it most likely means that it was not a good batting day on the pitch.

The 3rd game of the 20 over season showed positive & negative attributes for the Titans squad. We were missing 3 normal components, one opening master blaster batsman, one bowling all-rounder & one medium pace bowler. The bowling contingent held a supposedly strong batting opposition to 140 runs, especially on a small ground with some good fielding support. The batting lineup continues to be the concern as the team matriculates through the 20 over season. Again, lessons to be learned & applied. The fielding highlights included diving catches by Chucky & Tanmay along with 2 stumpings by Skipper Tiki. The fielding included some misfields that lead to unnecessary boundaries. The only batting highlight was Chucky but he should have finished the chase. Practice makes perfect and the squad needs more of it.