League Match 1: Aliens vs Marienlyst Cricket Club
Aliens kick off 2019 campaign with convincing 5-wicket win
Aliens put in an all-round performance to beat Marienlyst at Rud.
The club’s second-best figures in an innings (6/31) from Dan Hollick was backed up by a solid fielding effort, before a century stand from Damon and Harry saw Aliens home with two overs to spare.
A few overs in, however, it didn’t look so promising as Marienlyst opener, I Arif, launched Damon over mid-off for 6 in the first over.
He continued to hit the ball straight and cleanly, and with decent support at the other end, Marienlyst were an imposing 1/90 at drinks. They would have been eying a 200+ total.
Although the bowling was a little rusty – to be expected in the first game – the ground fielding was sharp on a very patchy outfield. Everyone was charging in with the bowler, keeping the chirp up and getting their bodies behind the ball. Bobby was particularly enthusiastic in his first game for the club.
At the break, Aliens talked about getting that one wicket to spark a collapse. We kept our heads in the first sessions despite the runs coming freely and after the break this persistence paid dividends. Dan turned the game on its head with two wickets and a run out in the first over of his second spell.
Marienlyst didn’t recover from there. Next over, Dave took two wickets, including a good catch from Dan. They built another partnership, but then Dan came back to claim the final three wickets in the last over of the innings.
But while the final 7 wickets had fallen for just 30, the total of 172 was still imposing on a large ground with a heavy outfield. After Damien and Matt were dismissed early, Simon and Damon kept the scoreboard ticking with good running and a few boundaries.
When Simon was out for 24, Harry and Damon kept up the momentum. The running was the difference between the two teams. Where Marienlyst were only interested in hitting boundaries, Aliens took quick singles, ran the first one hard and looked for two.
At one stage it seemed Damon and Harry were hitting a two every ball. Harry hit the ball straight and through wide mid-on, Damon pushed the gaps, cut and hockey-swept.
They looked at ease and kept above the run rate over after over. With about 10 overs to go, Aliens needed just 4.5 an over. Both batsmen were out before the end but they had truly carried the team to victory. Their stand was worth 102. Damon finished on 75, Harry on 41.
Marcus and Dave did a Dhoni, needlessly taking the game down to the wire (perhaps getting maximum value for their match fee?) before Marcus clipped over square leg to seal a great all-round performance for Aliens, and kicking off what looked to be a promising season.