Match Report Ramsbottom 1st XI v Lowerhouse CC 1st XI – 16 April 2023
RCC 83 for 9 (40 overs) LCC 84 for 4 (34.1 overs)
Scorecard here
Disappointing Batting Performance in Opening Game Defeat
On a day when many games fell by the wayside due to unfit grounds the Rams season got off to a defeat against a strong Lowerhouse outfit who I expect to see challenging for honours at the end of the season.
The decision to play the game was left in the hands of the umpires after the captains disagreed on the state of the ground, with Tom Parton thinking it was unfit and Ben Heap obviously keen to play.
A 40 over game with a 2:10 pm start was the umpires’ ruling after some areas of the ground had been mopped up.
With Rammy winning the toss several of our spectators were bemused when we opted to bat first. That decision soon backfired as we were quickly reduced to 7 for 3, both openers being out to poor shots and newcomer Ben Pearson looking a little unlucky to be adjudged LBW.
Harry Caton then joined our pro Sen at the wicket and both set about repairing the damage. With the Lowerhouse bowlers giving little away scoring was at a premium but the pair grafted and took our total to 42 before Sen fell to a “grubber”.
After that our middle order was unable to offer any support to Harry who battled manfully before falling for 38 trying to up the scoring rate as overs were running out. At that stage there were only 68 runs on the board.
In the end we managed to prevent the opposition bowling us all out, finishing on a paltry 83 for 9. Another 40 runs on that total would have posted a challenging target.
In fairness our bowlers tried to contain the opposition and the fact that the game went to the 35th over showed their resolve but with the strength in the Lowerhouse batting camp we were always on a loser.
What highlighted the difference in the sides to me was the fact that after Birdy had managed to remove the prolific Ben Heap with the score on 5 Joe Martin strolled to the wicket at number 3. Joe will be the first to admit that although he has batted early on occasions he can usually be found in the late order, sometimes at number 11.
He went on to show how to bat on a tricky wicket, displaying infinite patience and putting the occasional bad ball he received away for four. His partnership with Frankie Haasbroek which took the score to 44 ensured the game was taken away from us.
In the end we did mange to take 4 wickets and gain one bonus point.
This was always going to be difficult start to our season but, with the exception of Harry and Sen, our batting was poor and needs to be improved considerably.
Man of the Match – Harry Caton who looked a different class to the rest of our amateurs.
