CATCHES and STUMPINGS
Our catch rate was 2.4 per match. My only yardstick is last season Oaks, with H2 just ahead. Lijo, outstandingly, took 6, Ajesh 3 and Andrew Williamson, Stuart Hayes, Barry Elshove (in just one game), Mathew Hodgson 2 each. There were also catches by Manik, David Braithwaite, Will Richards, Terry Gayle and Kevin Hodson. Behind the stumps Cecil took 2 catches and had one stumping.
What can we learn for the coming season? The important lesson remains: we need to work on our batting, and especially down the order rather surprisingly. Our bowlers have done well with the ball but we actually need them to contribute a little more with the bat. Thus if we can have 5 top order batsmen scoring 20-25 runs and 5 lower order batsmen with 10-12 runs each then we would have a score in 150- 185 zone- a level we never reached in 2022.
So much for statistics. They can get in the way of enjoying the cricket if you are not careful. We didn’t have a great season from a results perspective, finishing bottom but one, but I hope that the players enjoyed the season anyway. Thanks to Cecil for his help in captaining the side in my (unfortunately rather frequent) absences. Luckily there is no relegation from Division 19 and we live to fight on again in 2023 for a second league season!
Written by Des Drumm