Round 6 V Caringbah
Dragons 8-180 (50th Over) def Caringbah 7-177 (50 Overs)

WOW! What a game. This one went right down to the wire, last over, the Dragons reached the target after Nick punched a drive through the covers to get the two runs required. This was a great match played between two very even teams, in reality neither side deserved to lose this one.

Caringbah batted very well in the first week and were looking at 200 plus. Our boys hung in there in tough conditions and came back with some good bowling and fielding to restrict them to a total that gave us a good chance to chase down. Dylan bowled his usual good lines, Josh S snared the first wicket and bowled a good spell. Alex’s off-spinners are coming along nicely, well bowled Alex you kept things tight in the middle overs, you were unlucky to cop a couple of overthrows off your bowling that went to the boundary. Our youngest player Ryan turned the tables for us that first week. Your bowling was accurate and right on the money, the ball that bowled Taj was a beauty, your second wicket was just as good, accurate and on the spot with Max taking a good catch to remove one of their middle order danger men. Caleb came on at the death and knocked over their big hitter, an excellent delivery that was crucial to keep the score down.

We knew Caringbah were going to be up for it week 2 and they didn’t disappoint. Their bowling and fielding was easily the best we have come up against this season, however we stuck to our plan and remained patient. At 1-52 after 25 overs we knew we had to accelerate and this we did. Matt Simpson was the rock of our innings with 62 patient runs. He was well supported by Alex who started the acceleration and posted a very good 44. Dylan followed and put on a quick fire 22 before being well caught near the boundary by Elijah, probably one of the best fieldsmen in the comp. The turning point came for us when Josh S came to the crease. Like Ryan this is Josh’s first year in U10’s and he really turned the game for us with an aggressive 13 including two boundaries. Ben G and Caleb played their part sacrificing their wickets for quick runs and Nick hit the winning runs to complete an excellent chase for us. Well deserved Nick, your batting is coming along nicely.

Neil and myself are proud of the way you guys played; you stood up to a very good side. You played so well both weeks especially when the important moments came along. Every boy is improving with each game, the older boys are leading from the front and the younger ones are catching up quickly and displaying some great skills.

One more game to go before the Christmas break so let’s finish off with another good one.