Florida hobbles to four-run defeat
A boundary separated the two teams
The Florida Cricket Club’s Second XI started off their 2018 leg of the season, with an away game against the Caxton Khosa Third XI.
Although seven of Florida’s regular players were away on various school tours, the team did not lack experienced and strong players. They were ready to take on their opponents.
The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first. The pitch appeared to favour the batsmen, and with Caxton’s Juan Klusman at the crease, this proved to be true. He managed to get the runs flowing, while his opening partner, Ruben Coetzer, had to wait for 30 balls to be delivered before he could open his account. However, once he started scoring, he contributed to every partnership, and was dismissed with only the last ball of the innings – scoring a sterling 79 runs.
Florida complicated matters for themselves by dropping four catches that certainly could have changed the match. The only notable bowling performance was Declan Osborn’s three wickets for 41 runs.
Khosa managed to score 170 runs in 32 overs, and they piled on the pressure by scoring another 100 runs in the final 18 overs – resulting in a very defendable 271 runs. This score Florida was yet to beat, but their mindset was strong and the players were ready to chase the runs.
Rento Belan and Roeshen Sage opened Florida’s innings with a quick 55 runs in seven overs, but when Renato was bowled and Roeshen run out cheaply, there was renewed optimism among their hosts. The fate of Florida’s run chase was in the hands of Simon Mogotsi and Declan, and they stepped up to the challenge when they scored a 93-run partnership – the highest of the day.
But, then Declan decided to play his favourite pull shot, but clipped his offside bail and he had to return to the dugout. The next two batsmen couldn’t build any momentum, and were dismissed cheaply by the hosts. Ahmed Patel stepped up to the crease, and managed to halt the fall of wickets, when he and Simon set up a 62-run partnership.
Simon managed to smash a fantastic 128 runs off 63 balls before losing his wicket, leaving Florida’s remaining batsmen to score 22 runs from 13 overs. Although it seemed an easy task, the hosts had other plans as they wrapped up the game, taking the last four wickets for only 17 runs.
With only a boundary separating the two teams, Florida managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and ended the day with a four-run loss.
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