Div 1 Match 9: Bjørvika vs Aliens
When: 05 JUL 2015
Where: Rommen
Bjørvika Cricket Club 125/3 (14.2 ov)
Aliens Cricket Club 124/10 (27.2 ov)
Bjørvika Cricket Club - Won by 7 wickets
A scorching Oslo day set the scene for the Sunday morning match between the rising Oslo aliens and the division leaders, Bjørvika, at the smallish ground in Drammen. Despite slight dampness in the morning, the ground promised to be fast as the weather made its way to a top of 28 degrees.
The game started on time with our skipper losing the toss and getting sent in to bat, thus setting the pace for the match.
Bjørvika put the pressure on early by bowling tight and consistent. This paid off in the fourth over with a contestable call of caught behind after Markus attempted to guide a leg side ball towards fine leg. A slight sound as the ball passed by was judged to be bat and Makrus was sent back for 6. This was followed up in the very next over with James Clowes being clean bowled.
At 2 for 15, the skipper came in with hopes of restoring some consistency to the batting line up. Unfortunately this idea was quashed a few overs later with David getting bamboozled by one of the better bowls of the day and getting clean bowled. With the pressure rising to make a defendable total, Simon came to the crease alongside the skipper with the intent to slow things down and develop a much needed partnership. This appeared to be going well as the two stacked on 33 over the next 6 overs. In the 18th however, the collapse began as the skipper was caught behind slashing at an outswinger which found the seam. This was followed by 4 more wickets in the next 4 overs.
Drew was next to fall, not finding the middle of the bat and knocking it straight to the fieldsman. Benan followed shortly after in an attempt to guide the ball to the large gap in the leg-side and instead finding the leading edge and lollipopping it to the fielder near gully. Simon too was found wanting the following over trying a cover drive and instead lobbing the ball gently towards the man at cover. The collapse finished with the fall of Sudesh who edged the ball into the steady hands of the captain and thus brought to the crease our top scorer of the day, Steve Cluff.
At 8/75, Steve and Mitchell managed to knock another 21 before Mitchel was cleaned up whilst not offering a shot to an in swinger that found the top of his off-stump. The ever-injured Sunil, looking better after his knee injury, hobbled his way to the crease and promptly found a beaming full toss to do some damage to his ribs. However, being a trooper and team player, he managed to hold on and support Steve as the two added 31 desperately needed runs before losing his wicket.
The Aliens had made 124 runs off 27.2 overs. Their lowest score so far this season. However, the skipper managed to salvage some team spirit as the team made its way out to the field and there was a brief glimmer of hope that Bjørvika could suffer a similar performance.
This dream was quickly crushed however as the opening partnership took to the crease with marching orders to find the fence. A few devastating overs (and some impressive shots) put Bjørvika in a commanding position before the aliens got their first breakthrough in the 9th over with Sudesh finding an top edge straight to the keeper. Spirits rose slightly as Sudesh took another wicket 2 overs later in the exact same manner, however at this point in the game there was little chance of a miracle. Bjørvika continued their reign, hitting 25 in the next 2 overs before David took a hard earned wicket. However, with only 8 runs to go, Bjørvika quickly cleaned up the next over with back to back fours.
In the end, it was a disappointing loss for the Aliens and hopefully a once-off lapse in concentration for the team. A rematch is scheduled with Bjørvika for the 14th of August.
