2 Fast 2 Chookoo
Saturday 24th of October, 1pm.
Accelerate Automotive Bloomfield Premier 3 Vs Palmy Stallions, Ongley Park 10.
The second game of the season brought Bloomfield CC's first taste of a grass wicket and, according to the MCA Facebook page, was meant to be a scorcher requiring plenty of sunscreen. Instead, the cricket gods delivered a classic Palmerston North special: cold, wind, drizzle and enough layers to make sunscreen the least of anyone's concerns.
After a slightly shaky batting performance in Round 1, Bloomfield lost the toss and were sent in to bat. The innings got off to a nervous start, with wickets falling regularly and partnerships proving hard to build. Sam Roebuck was unfortunately bounced out early after a frightening encounter with a bowler who looked far too young to be generating that sort of pace.
One of the moments of the day came courtesy of Chris Sharrock's long-awaited return. After six months away from cricket and not looking at a ball the entire off-season, Chris somehow managed to middle a textbook forward defensive block off his very first delivery as if he'd never left. As The manaful Gazby so eloquently put it:
"Chris Sharrock is a bastard."
After six months away from the game, one perfectly middled block was apparently all Chris needed to remind everyone of his talent. Unfortunately, cricket quickly restored balance to the universe as he was bowled the very next ball.
With wickets tumbling around him, Kurtis Poppe produced an outstanding innings of 65 from 71 balls to anchor the innings. While the scorebook will show a classy knock featuring eight boundaries, it won't show the number of extra metres Kurtis was forced to run thanks to Chookoo's enthusiastic commitment to turning singles into twos and twos into threes. Sources close to the middle suggest Kurtis was less than impressed with the fitness session disguised as a batting partnership.
Despite never quite getting a completely dominant partnership together, contributions throughout the order and a healthy helping of extras helped Bloomfield reach a very competitive 196/9 from 40 overs. At the halfway mark, the mood in the sheds was positive. We knew if we bowled well, we'd be hard to beat.
And bowl well we did.
The medium-slow cartel took full advantage of the conditions, producing enough swing to make the opposition batters question their life choices. Ben McKelvie started the squeeze with a miserly 2/14, while Pilch chipped in with 2 wickets. Kurtis wasn't finished for the day either, ripping through the middle order with a match-turning spell of 4/14 and proving once again that MVP points aren't handed out for free.
The skipper then decided the game needed a hero and confidently brought himself on at first change, apparently forgetting that attending training is generally a prerequisite for remembering how to bowl. Two overs later he somehow had a wicket, proving that cricket remains the world's most confusing sport.
From there the result never looked in doubt. The Stallions were bundled out for just 96, handing Bloomfield a convincing 100-run victory and a perfect two-from-two start to the season.
Perhaps the most pleasing part is that, despite sitting undefeated, Bloomfield still feels like there is more to come with the bat. We haven't yet put together a complete batting performance, but one thing is becoming clear: this side bats deep. Very deep. Right down to number 11.
MVP Votes
🥇 Kurtis Poppe - 3 votes
🥈 Ben McKelvie - 2 votes
🥉 James "Pilch" Pilcher - 1 vote
A great team win, a grass-wicket century of excuses avoided, and another week closer to discovering whether Chookoo's running between wickets is strategy or cardio training.
Bloomfield CC: 196/9 (40) defeated Palmy Stallions P3: 96 all out (29.2) by 100 runs. 🏏🍻
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