Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

Edmonton began brightly enough. They won the toss and the only success for Washington’s opening bowlers was when Nick Tidey pegged back Porter’s off stump with the score at 14. Justin Benedetti played well for 46 and Gupta scored 20 as the second wicket carried the score to 73.

The introduction of Western Australian paceman Mick Kennedy, however, changed the face of the game. In a blistering spell, the left-armer blew away the heart of the Edmonton line up, finishing with six wickets for 43.

It should have been 7, but a terrible mix up between Messrs Kennedy and Hitchcock allowed a simple catch to go to ground. However, the batsmen so mismanaged their affairs while the ball was in the air that they were at the same end when it hit the ground: a simple run out was the net result of the confusion.

Some serious blows from Billson (24), a breath-taking catch by keeper Johnny Roche and some accurate spin from Gary Malcolm (0-34) followed, before Neil Martin returned to pick up a well deserved wicket, Tidey got another to finish with 2-46, and Wash were left to contemplate a target of 152 on a very slow track.

They got there in just 20 overs. Pete Demetri set off as if he had urgent business elsewhere, hitting a 31-ball 50 that included ten 4s and a 6. When he departed to a skied top edge, Matthew Cragoe (48 not out) and Grant MacDonald (46 not out) completed the job, the former clinching victory with a six over square leg.

But it was all too one-sided to be much fun for either side, and as skipper Demetri remarked later: ‘it was the old story of the 7mm drill and the 10mm screw’. Quite.