2019 LESSON ONE: CATCHES WIN MATCHES

January 5, 2019. Breaks. Breaks in play. Breaks in schedule. Drinks breaks. Injury breaks. Time wreaks havoc with cricketers. Strictly speaking, players around Auckland only had one week off, but it seems to have been just long enough for a case of rustiness. 2019 kicked off with a battle of Premier T20 invitees – Kumeu and Hibiscus Coast – at the pitcuresque Devonport Domain.

Kumeu won the toss and elected to bowl. The match started with a leg-side loosener that was appropriately punished for four to backward square-leg. It was a sign of things to come as Ramesh Lakmal feasted on some wayward bowling. Sam Lucas wasn’t left out; he too was gifted a pair of full tosses to despatch.

Between boundaries, Lakmal picked off gaps to keep the score moving. Hibiscus Coast eased out to 43/0 and Kumeu’s frustration was no more evident than when a ball flew wide of third man and the bowler screamed at the fielder. The only way the poor fella at third man was taking the catch was if he was dodging good length deliveries by fielding on the number one pitch.

The onslaught didn’t stop with the wicket of Lucas – caught comfortably at long off. Pubudu Gayan, the wicket-taker, was then removed from the attack having bowled two waist-high full tosses. Ben Aveyard made the most of the opportunity to get his inning underway depositing both over the rope. Neither free hit amounted to much, the second bowled by a new bowler – the rare cricketing stitch-up.

Lamkal (67) continued to do his best Jesse Ryder impression lifting back-to-back deliveries on leg-stump to the vacant fine-leg area – the second bringing up a fourth fifty in the T20 competition. Acceleration appeared the name of the game when he drove his second six into the rock wall. When he went to repeat the dose next ball, he lost the stylish shape he had previously exhibited and picked out a waiting long-off.

Muhammad Aurenzeb Khan was particularly impressive when the hit was on finding a quiet place to settle his picnic blanket on a line and length. Khan’s three-over spell pulled Hibiscus Coast back from 180+ to an eventual 163/5.

Hibiscus Coast looked in complete control early on. The fielders backed the bowlers, dots were strung together and the pressure was being built. That all changed in the fifth over when a pair of relatively simple chances went down. It was only going to get worse for Hibiscus Coast; seven catches went down in the first ten wicketless overs.

Kumeu were gifted a platform, but also helped themselves to 6 sixes inside the first ten overs. With the score at 83/0, they were now favourites. There wasn’t much in the wicket for the bowlers and the Hibiscus Coast fielders may not have done much fielding over the break.

Elyaas Sayed was the first to fifty – hitting powerfully behind square. He pounced on anything short and combined fantastically with wicketkeeper Mohamed Shiraz. When Sayed (52) was trapped in front by Lakmal in the eleventh over, Cameron Lowry kept the score ticking over to stay up with the run-rate. On 20 off 19 balls, he was stumped with 29 to get off 17 deliveries.

It was left to Shifaz (58) to get Kumeu home; he went past fifty with a two to wide long-on before clubbing a six down the ground. With 18 still needed off 11, Lakmal cleaned him out. The Hibiscus Coast huddle was an emotional one. The missed opportunities were weighing heavily on them and one voice spoke the loudest, even quality players drop catches. It’s true. The Blackcaps, later that evening, would drop six in 25 overs.

Hibiscus Coast had a sniff and if they could tighten up in the field, they’d be right in the match. They couldn’t. Several run-out opportunities went begging throughout and Kumeu had no choice but to take some risky runs late in the game. Junaid Nadir hit 22 off eight balls – including 6, 2, 4 ,4 – to seal a resounding seven-wicket victory.