SESSIONS: JAYASINGHE DRIVES BIRKENHEAD TO 400

November 17, 2018. In the return of Sessions – a quick look at a session rather than the six that make up a two-day fixture – Three Wicket Drill saw two teams for the first time – Birkenhead and Ellerslie. The morning session was spent in Birkenhead before a quick dash to Te Atatu Peninsula for a tense and tumultuous afternoon session.

Morning Session - Birkenhead vs. Eden Roskill at Birkenhead War Memorial. Tom Hellaby.

Daddy Hundreds. Coaches love them, players remember them and, at the end of a long day, opponents will often applaud them. The clubs came off contrasting results – Eden Roskill, an outright victory and Birkenhead, a crushing innings defeat. It proved an intriguing match-up. One knock would dictate the day.

Eden Roskill won the toss and elected to bowl first in humid swing-friendly conditions. In the first over, Azhar Abbas found the outside edge of opener Tony Treadaway for it not to carry through to a waiting slip. Treadaway later kicked Birkenhead off with a boundary driven straight down the ground. A cut and a pull later and Eden Roskill could have been accused of trying too much as they searched for a first wicket.

At the other end, Arjuna Jayasinghe worked hard to find his feet. Though early on he was vulnerable outside off, his feet were moving and his strokeplay was proactive. He lost Treadaway in the eleventh over when an inside-edge ballooned to the slip corden. Eden Roskill initially appealed for the leg-before; once the ball was caught, they sensed there might have been an inside-edge. The umpires conferred about the legitimacy of the catch and Treadaway had to go.

The left-handed Jayasinghe wasn’t afraid to play against the turn of Barrington Rowland. Two forceful strokes through the offside made for interesting viewing. Soon after drinks, Skipper Rowland reduced Birkenhead to 69/2. Having straight-driven his first ball to the boundary, Akash Christian was caught in two minds as he came down the wicket to a well-flighted delivery. A death rattle followed and Birkenhead’s solid start was in jeopardy.

Last week’s collapses – plural – will have been fresh in the mind of Laurie Agnew as he strode to the wicket. He got forward early and was mindful as Eden Roskill turned to spin from both ends. Meanwhile, with men employed to protect boundaries, Jayasinghe picked off singles as he continued towards fifty. Agnew wasn’t afraid to use his feet either. After several forward prods with bat and pad, he came down the wicket and deposited Rowland over long on for six.

Jayasinghe went past fifty. Agnew, however, was adjudged leg-before by Jeet Kumar. With Jayasinghe unbeaten on 55 off 90 deliveries at the lunch break, Birkenhead were still in a commanding position at 110/3. The fourth-wicket partnership flourished after lunch. Jayasinghe would eventually be dismissed for 173 – including 18 boundaries – and he was well supported by Chamal Rajapaksha (84) and Oneash La Brooy (49*) as Birkenhead racked up 400 all out. Eden Roskill have the batsmen to bat all day next week, but will the scoreboard pressure be too much?

Afternoon Session – Waitakere vs. Ellerslie at Te Atatu Park. Tom Hellaby.

While Ellerslie’s top order had been left flummoxed at 29/4, Alan Burton and Parikshith Narsimhan had fought through to lunch to leave the game in the balance at 95/4. After a mad 40-minute dash from Birkenhead to Te Atatu Park, it felt as though there was some heat to the occasion.

Ellerslie survived some early shouts after lunch. Jack Henderson and Travis Ngatai were fired up and hunting for wickets. Burton held firm, but he saw his partners come and go. First, Narsimhan (43) was caught at backward point after Henderson found the outside half of his flayed drive. Henderson didn’t take long to grab another.

Waitakere were fired up; no one more so than captain Travis Ngatai. Our session, our day, he repeatedly cried out looking directly at the Ellerslie players in the tent. Ellerslie lost another and, at 115/7, were threatening to collapse for a second time. Waitakere were boisterous in celebration at this point and rightfully so – they had turned the game in the space of five overs.

Enter Dinesh de Silva. Waitakere decided to gamble on getting Burton off strike. They wanted to bowl at de Silva. Sometimes it works and the heat goes on the new guy. Sometimes it allows the new player enough strike to get into their innings. With three wickets left to take, it did seem a bit early. The experienced Burton happily took what was on offer.

de Silva was confident and comfortable with the pressure. He took his time before he attacked. He whipped strongly over the leg sidea and won the race to fifty. His teammates were rowdy in appreciation and de Silva’s reserved acknowledgement of the moment suggested he had more in mind. Burton followed close behind to his half-century.

Ngatai ran through his bowling options, but couldn’t make the breakthrough before tea. The skipper put two tough chances down just before tea – one, a low return catch and the other, a one-handed diving attempt at a straight mid-wicket. It would have been a real boost for Waitakere going in to the tea break. It wasn’t to be and Ellerslie had mirrored the morning session – early wickets followed by resurgence. Ellerslie went to tea at 194/7.

The partnership was broken atfter tea at 208/8 with de Silva caught on 64 – 8 fours and 1 six. Burton, the ninth man out, battled through to 76 – from 209 deliveries – as Ellerslie finished 236 all out. Todd Wannan mopped up the tail to go with two at the top finishing with figures of 5-26. Waitakere will resume on Day Two at 41/1 and will want to build a solid platform for the chase.