Titan

Simple Things

Walt H. Rambaransingh | Date 03/10/14

The Titans continued their 2014 40 over campaign at United SSC. Game 4 of the 2014 40 over campaign would be played at John Stretch Park. Titans CC won the toss and elected to field first based on the dew on the ground

Krishna & Walt opened the bowling. Krishna took the first wicket in the 3rd over by getting the non-strike opening batsman to send a straightforward catch to Aditya. Tiki stumped the other opening batsman after he chased a dedicated wide from Walt in the 4th over. Walt’s bowling was expensive in his first 2 overs but got a wicket. Krish was efficient in his segmented spell & gathered 3 wickets. Raka & Santosh were the first change bowlers. Santosh bowled well following the previous game’s performance and got 3 wickets in his effective 8 over spell. Errol rounded out the bowling with a solid spell of overs where he kept batsmen at bay. The issue of the innings was dropped catches. Of the 194 runs that United SSC scored, one batsman scored 86 runs and he was dropped 3 times including the first drop that occurred when he was on 17 runs off Walt's bowling. The only fielding highlight of the day was Chucky’s one-handed diving catch at cover off Errol’s bowling. At the end of the innings, United SSC was 194 runs for 9 wickets after 40 overs. Titans CC Bowling details of the day are below:

Krishna - 8 overs, 0 maidens, 27 runs, 3 wickets, 1 wide.
Walt- 8 overs, 0 maidens, 48 runs, 1 wicket, 8 wides.
Rakesh - 8 overs, 0 maidens, 50 runs, 1 wicket, 7 wides.
Santosh - 8 overs, 0 maidens, 35 runs, 3 wickets, 8 wides.
Errol- 8 overs, 0 maidens, 33 runs, 1 wicket, 3 wides.

Chucky & Dalip opened the batting. This was Chucky’s first action with the squad for 2014 as he was recovering from a Xmas Eve elbow dislocation. After Chucky faced the first over & defended well getting his eye in and gaining 0 runs, Dalip began swinging right away in the 2nd over. Dalip lost his wicket with the first ball of the 5th over after a ridiculous caught & bowled by the opening bowler. Aditya replaced Dalip and started well but lost his wicket after being caught at long off in the 12th over. Praveen followed but got bowled less than 2 overs later. Rakesh replaced Praveen and had a decent partnership with Chucky that looked promising but got bowled after attempting to defend a delivery that swung more than anticipated. Skipper Tiki replaced Raka and allowed Chucky to swing away, scoring four 6s & four 4s. Chucky & Tiki had a small partnership before Chucky lost his wicket after scoring a team high 63 runs. The remaining lineup did nothing to support the run chase and the Titans ended up being bowled out for 130 runs in 31 overs. The only batting highlight was Chucky’s 63 runs on his return to the squad for 2014. Titans lose by 64 runs.

The 2nd loss of the season was frustrating as the lack of execution in all 3 aspects of bowling, fielding & batting allowed the squad to beat themselves. Dropped catches, wides (27), & lack of batting were causes for the defeat. Bowling highlights included 3 wicket spells from Krishna & Santosh. The only fielding highlight was the one-handed diving catch from Chucky. The only batting highlight was Chucky’s 63 runs in his first season appearance. Taken catches would have ended the first innings much sooner. More disciplined batting would have easily chased the necessary 194 runs. Chucky’s 6s were beautiful & included a straight one over the bowler and a deep fine leg 6 that “scared” & grazed one of the opponent’s supporters. Again, the most glaring issue of the day was the dropped catches that would have ended the first innings much earlier. Skipper Tiki addressed the issues at the end of the game & stated that, especially, the batting order would be “shaken up” based on season statistical performances. The squad will take this loss as a lesson & improve on the inefficiencies of the day. The Titans squad will keep working to improve in 2014 as the 40 over mid-season approaches.