Match reports 2001

SUNDAY APRIL 29th 2001 LJUBLJANA CC vs SRI LANKA SPORTS CLUB  at Velden

Sri Lanka won the toss on a warm and sunny morning, and elected to bat. Ljubljana then bowled and fielded well, and none of the Sri Lankan batsman was able to dominate the bowling in the way they would have liked. Particularly worthy of mention on our side were performances of 2/27 from Brad Eve, bowling fast and accurately; Scott Geldart (2/43), who bowled 10 overs in a single spell, and could have taken 5 wickets if all the catches had stuck; Dan Ryan (4/39), who troubled the batsmen consistently, and Mark Oman(2/23), who none of the batsmen felt able to play positively against. Had Ljubljana not been weakened by the late withdrawal through injury of Steve Mayland, the final total of 214 all out from 47.5 overs would have been much lower. The Sri Lankans were led by a solid performance from Sampath (50), with support from Reeza (36), Jayath (29) and Naleen (32). So far, so good.

Unfortunately, it is only fair to say that we let ourselves down badly when we batted, losing a succession of early wickets and never recovering from the dismal position of 49/5. Mark Oman took up where he left off last summer, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 62, but otherwise only Brad Eve (19) was able to reach double figures. Five Ljubljana batsmen failed to trouble the scorers (including last man Jay Cook, who deserves special mention for holding a catch for the first time, as well as for being over an hour late, having left his passport at home). Eventually Ljubljana closed on 135/9 after 50 overs, with only 4 bonus points (for bowling Sri Lanka out) and some wounded pride to take home.

Ljubljana, fielding a stronger side than the previous weekend, had the unusual experience of batting first, on a warm and humid morning. The abnormality was heightened by the early loss of the Oman wicket before he had scored. Despite this setback, we batted ourselves into a strong position, being 93/3 after 29 overs. Credit for this lies with Geldart (27) and Davies (25), as well as the extras, which, as usual, contributed more than their fair share to our total. However, faint hopes can so easily turn to dust, as was seen when the batting ultimately subsided to 126 all out, with no-one able to stand up to some straight but certainly not devastating bowling. If we are to stand any chance of achieving respectability in this competition, we will have to bat in a way that bears some resemblance to our ability.

Pakistan opened steadily, and seemed well on course to achieving the moderate target, but after being 60/2 and 81/3, wickets fell calamitously. The Pakistan middle order was no match for Ljubljana's hostile fast bowling, backed up by fine fielding, and, at 107/8, the game appeared to be ours. Mark Oman used his slower ball to spectacular effect, finishing with figures of 4/34, with support from Steve Mayland (3/32) and Brad Eve (2/36). However, unfortunately for us the hero of the day proved to be Ishtiaq, who added 17 not out to bowling figures of 2/9 from 5.2 overs to see his side home to victory, in what may prove to be the closest game of the Austrian league season.

It should be noted in this report that in two league games so far this season, Ljubljana have bowled a wicketkeeper-troubling 71 wides. At our best, we can be a better bowling side than any club in central Europe, but it would be obvious to any neutral observer that, to win games, we need to bowl a more consistent line, whilst maintaining the aggression which is our strongest feature.

Chasing a moderate target of around 3 an over, Ljubljana started steadily, and were definitely in the box seat at 59/1 after 17 overs. Oman(23) and Davies(10) added 40 for the second wicket, but the entire middle order sank without trace (mostly to the usual range of inappropriate and over-ambitious shots), and we were dead and almost buried at 115/9. The last wicket pair of Steve Mayland and Jason Stachurski then performed heroically, proving that batting in this league shouldn't be as troublesome as our scorecards seem to indicate. As the number of runs required dwindled steadily, the opposition bowlers felt under real pressure for the first time this season, before Mayland was well caught at long on with Ljubljana 10 runs short. A sad end to a magnificent partnership of 50 for the last wicket, a new club record.

With only 117 to defend, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for us in the field, and so it proved. The Concordia openers were both dropped, but this made little or no difference to the outcome.  Arshad (52 not out) and Salman (50 not out) both batted excellently, and had no trouble seeing their side home to victory in quick time.

Having bowled our opponents out for 53 in the corresponding fixture last season, and as the new winners of the Lodi international tournament, Ljubljana went into this game with confidence high. However, Five Continents won the toss and elected to bat, and their batsmen were assisted by a series of dropped catches and some erratic bowling. Indeed, their openers rode their luck to the brink of the first drinks break, and a big score looked possible. The game was always in our own hands, though, as our opponents were swinging the bat and playing across the line in such a way that a steady fall of wickets was inevitable. Dan Ryan(3/32) deserves commendation for an excellent spell and Scott Geldart(3/31) consistently beat the bat. Rajpal(28) and Subhash Lal(16) were difficult to dislodge towards the end, and we faced a target of 223 for victory, the achievement of which would have been a club record.

After Geldart and Davies had both been bowled cheaply, Ljubljana looked vulnerable at 28/2, but it would appear that no-one had told debutant Rob Crawford, batting at 4, that this kind of situation often presages our batsmen quietly subsiding to inglorious defeat.  Rob spectacularly escaped admission to our duck-on-debut club (current membership: 10) by getting off the mark with four boundaries, and he and Mark Oman batted from the 8th to the 36th over in a magnificent partnership of 148 for the 3rd wicket, a new club record. Both batted outstandingly, being prepared to treat good balls with respect, despatching bad ones to the boundary, and ensuring that the run rate was maintained with a steady flow of singles. Crawford was eventually out for 72, including 14 boundaries, but by then we only required 47 from 14 overs, and Oman (93 not out) led us home to victory. One swallow does not make a summer, but if Mark Oman is able to rely upon the support of other batsmen that he got in this game, these 200+ totals will no longer be out of reach for us, and we may become serious contenders for the league championship.

The reply started positively, with a solid partnership of 90 for the first wicket between Oman (53) and Geldart (26). Two brilliant catches from consecutive deliveries then put us onto the back foot, and the position had changed to 108/3. As too often has been the case, the fragility of our middle order then became depressingly apparent and we lost 6 wickets for 13 runs in under 9 overs. Only Steve Mayland (12) and Nick de Sausmarez (15) provided any resistance, and we were all out for a miserable 150.

Our opening bowlers tied the batsmen down well initially, but, like a powerful engine that takes a while to warm up, the Lords batsmen were happy to fend off the good balls, patiently await anything wide or short before cutting loose. From about the 10th over on, we were given a royal seeing-to by Ghai, who finished on 118 not out, supported by his opening partner Ashwani (26) and then the middle order. Ryan (0/57), Oman (2/54) and Mayland (0/45) all took some punishment, and while none bowled particularly well, neither did they bowl especially badly. Mayland failed to hold a tough caught and bowled from Ghai which could have changed everything, but in truth it was a glorious batting display that deserved to win Lords the game.

SATURDAY JUNE 30th 2001 LJUBLJANA CC vs CC VELDEN 91 at Velden

Ljubljana put the previous week's losses behind them as they played away at Velden on a sultry, humid day. Velden chose to bat first and were quickly in trouble. A combination of good bowling in helpful conditions and suicidal batting helped Ljubljana to bowl out Velden for only 116. The main bowlers all bowled well but special mention must be given to Steve Mayland (5/27)who took the first 5 wicket haul of the season. Another 'highlight' was Mark Oman's 15 ball over including eight wides and a no-ball. This was a club record and perhaps an Austrian League record as well. The fielding was lax at times and four catches were dropped. A nonchalant one-handed peach was taken at gully, however, by Steve Fish who seems to have made the position his own.

 When Ljubljana came into bat there were some lusty strokes by Steve Fish and Brad Eve who perished in the cause of upping the run rate. However, Mark Oman (23*)in typically languid fashion and Scott Geldart(45*) in more pugnacious style put the issue beyond doubt very quickly. Both remained unbeaten at the end, and the only real blot on a proficient Ljubljana performance was the narrow failure to secure maximum batting points.