Yay, No more Te Rapa!

It felt like the skippers' handshake should have been a kiss and a cuddle; after all they have spent more time together than most of us has spent with our Nana's this year! You would think that with this unique understanding of each other, the toss would be done telepathically the night before the game. Not so, the skipper still managed to cock up the toss by misunderstanding the opposing skipper! Not funny at the time, but now thinking back, it was quite comical seeing two teams whiting up and doing warm up catches both staring at the opposition like they have been infected with the Ebola virus!

The first day was carried on in this ludicrous vein with the Te Rapa team, true to form, forgetting that LBW stands for "leg before wicket". After many discussions it was first thought that they had a team policy of "not out", but when a man was given out LBW by the umpire and then called back by the same umpire, it was concluded that they just didn't know any better! Still Te Rapa was only chasing 117, and Star was in the hunt at 108 for 7. At this point the Te Rapa skipper came to the crease, batting a lot lower than normal and he decided to have a go. Star had their chances to desmiss him early, but a dropped catch and more dodgy umpiring saw him to a quickfire 80-odd. The day ended with Te Rapa on 242 for 8. Charles Johnston contributed both with bat and ball, and Dave Gunn did the unthinkable by claiming 2 LBW's on the morning of the second day. Both Lbw's came from the same umpire, so it can only be assumed that he wont be playing for Te Rapa again :)

The second day saw Te Rapa all out for 275 and Star batting for survival. Dave March and Rohit Bawa did a good job to get the oppo's heads down by taking Star to around 50 by tea. Most of the Star batsmen contributed, with the standout yet again being Charles Johnston. He got a big fifty in sublime fashion, grinding when needed and smashing when the ball was there for it. He is arguably the most in form all-rounder in the club. Well done Chuck! That premier call up cant be far away. For the first time this year Star A passed the 200 run mark, and looked good doing it. The result went in favour of Te Rapa, but this blogger for one is sure that there will be another meeting of these teams come finals time.