Low Scoring Thriller at Omanuka
- Pickle Rick
- Feb 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 17
Accelerate Automotive Bloomfield Premier 3 Vs Palmy Super XI
Saturday the 15th of February, 1pm at Omanuka Oval.
This week’s match was always going to be a tough one versus the undefeated Palmy Super XI. After being beaten by the Super XI in the T20 final earlier in the season and then being soundly outplayed by them the next time we met in the 40 overs, we knew we would have to be playing some pretty good cricket if we wanted a chance at a win and securing a semi-final spot.
Captain Trout won the toss and chose to bowl on an Omanuka pitch that was rapidly drying out and wasn’t nearly as green as the one offered up a few weeks earlier. After some horrendous weeks with the ball, Trout decided to continue flogging a dead horse by giving Ben another go with the new ball. Straight away, it was apparent there would be plenty of swing on offer, making things difficult for the Palmy openers as they looked to send the ball to the large Omanuka boundaries early. Tight bowling from both Trout and Benjamin seemed to frustrate the Supers' openers as they looked to dominate the bowling early on. Trout was the first to break through, bowling Arvinder Singh for 10 in his second over. Benjamin followed in his next, getting Ramesh Shampuri and Shashank Jariwala, both LBW. Sumit Patel followed in the next over after being caught by Mark Tyler Ruffalow with a superb catch running backward off Trout’s bowling. This had The Super XI reeling at 19 for 4.
An excellent counter-punch by Kanal Patel off Benjamin’s wayward bowling put Palmy back in the game, launching them to 43 for 4, but Bloomfield held their nerve as Pilch came to the crease and restored order. His control over line and length frustrated the Super XI batsmen, who were still looking to hit their way out of trouble. Both Renish Vanpariya and Kanal Patel put together valuable scores, but Pilch’s 3 wickets in 4 overs had the Supers back on the ropes at 61 for 6. Realising the importance of bounce after last week's experience, Kurtis returned to the crease and chimed in with a wicket, but it was Pilch’s day as he picked up the remaining wickets and his five-wicket haul. Super XI ended their innings at 111 all out.
Although the target was low, there was no doubt in the Bloomfield camp about how difficult the chase could be. Some grade-leading bowlers, plenty of swing, and a pitch with plenty of life were going to make the journey to 112 eventful. Sure enough, Supers got off to the best possible start, ending any chances of an early finish by bowling Jase for 4. Big Doggs was next to the crease and looked steady but mistimed a ball from Bhargav Brahmbhatt to be caught at short cover for 3. Antz turned up, hit a 4, and was bowled. Sahan was next and did the same thing, leaving Bloomers at 43 for 4.
At this point, Supers probably felt in control of the match, and Bloomfield needed a partnership to form to have any chance. Supers' game management made that hard, as constant bowling changes made it difficult to settle and strong field sets made it hard to rotate the strike. Pilch joined the steady-as-ever Tyler at the crease and looked to tick over the score. Together, they added 26 before Pilch was trapped in front, LBW by Kanal Patel for 10. Tyler’s innings was the next to end from a ball that "seamed back like two feet," finishing as the top scorer with 26.
Once again, Bloomfield’s long batting lineup was tested and proved to be the difference, as Trout and Kurtis came in at 7 and 8 respectively. With only a few hiccups along the way, they saw us through to the total, securing a Bloomfield win by 4 wickets.
MVP: Pilch 3, Tyler 2, Trout 1
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