Relentless Bressay Light win knockout

This week saw the indoor cricket knockout being played to its conclusion. The first semi-final saw the Renegades take on the losing finalist of last year, Southend.The second semi-final saw Lerwick B take on last year’s winners Bressay Light.

Semi-Final

Renegades 101 for 3
Southend 98 for 4

First into action with the bat were the Renegades, with Andrew Cooper facing the first ball which was bowled by Darren Hitchin from Southend. It was honours even from the first over as eight runs came from it. Neville Davis looked in good nick with the bat as he scored 11 runs from the second over. Only three runs came off Hitchin’s next over and with a run out in the fourth over it was looking like a very tight game. Dylan Murphy was batting along with Cooper and Murphy looked in good nick as he hit every loose ball he faced for a six.

The loss of two Renegades wickets to run outs slowed down the scoring rate but with Murphy scoring 30 the Renegades reached a total of 101 for 3. The Southend reply did not get off to a good start as they lost their first wicket with the score on six runs. Fran Watt and Neil McLean batted very well together, Watt running very quickly between the wickets to put pressure on the Renegades fielders.

McLean soon retired on 26. Once Watt was bowled for 20 runs the Renegades took control of the game. Two wickets falling very quickly took McLean back to the crease and he hit some powerful shots as he turned the game back into Southend’s grasp. The last over saw 18 runs needed for victory. McLean tried his best as he scored 14 runs from the over, Southend ending their innings with a total of 98 for 4. The Renegades progressed to their first ever cup final.

Bressay Light 125 for 3
Lerwick B 62 for 3

The defending cup holders Bressay Light elected to bat first and set off at a tremendous rate. Stuart Fox and Greg Burgess opened the batting and took the opening Lerwick bowlers to task. A total of 38 runs came from the first three overs. The Lerwick B players were looking a bit shell shocked at this stage. The fourth over bowled from John Morton thankfully for Lerwick B saw only three runs being scored. The next over saw the bombardment continue as 18 runs came. Fox and Burgess both retired on 27 not out.

Lerwick B took their first wicket in the next over as John Morton pulled off a tremendous catch on the back wall to get the prize wicket of Stephen Morgan. Bressay Light pushed on for quick runs and they completed their 12 overs with a total of 125 for 3. Stuart Fox was top scorer with 33 not out.

Sadly for Lerwick B none of their bowlers played as well as they can. The Lerwick B reply never got out of first gear as all their players struggled with the Bressay Light bowling attack. Stuart Fox was the pick of the bowlers as he conceded only eight runs from his three overs and took one wicket. Lerwick B reached a total of 62 for 3 from their 12 overs.

Cup Final

Bressay Light 122 for 4
Renegades 82 all out

The teams that lined up for the final were Renegades: Peter Smith (capt), Andrew Cooper, Neville Davis, Dylan Murphy, Elliot Callieu and Graham March. Bressay Light: Stuart Fox (capt), Greg Burgess, Stephen Morgan, Steven Cheverton, Bruce Crossan and Paul Gray.

Batting first, Bressay Light again opened with Stuart Fox and Greg Burgess. A mix up with their running off only the fourth ball saw Fox run out for six. This gave the already well motivated Renegades team an early boost. The introduction of spin from Elliot Callieu in the third over saw the wicket of Burgess fall to a quick stumping. Another stumping two overs later, again off the bowling of Callieu, saw Bressay Light in trouble at 42 for 3 from 5 overs.

Stephen Morgan and Bruce Crossan were now batting together and they took no chances as they tried to increase the Bressay Light total. This they found difficult as the Renegades only conceded four runs from two overs. Morgan took a few chances and he retired on 25 not out. Paul Gray joined Crossan and these two scored quickly together before Gray was run out for 12. Morgan returned to bat and along with Crossan they scored very quickly.

The last over was a disaster for the Renegades as they conceded 23 runs. A total of eight runs came from their last ball as the Renegades fielders lost their composure and gave away silly overthrows. The batsmen managed to run between the wickets three times before the fielders took control of the situation. Bressay Light scored 58 runs from the last five overs to take their total to a very impressive 122 for 4. Stephen Morgan was 38 not out and Bruce Crossan 36 not out. Elliot Callieu took two wickets for 35 runs for the Renegades.

The Renegades have had a very good season this year and they were not daunted by the high total that they faced. Andrew Cooper and Neville Davis looked in good nick as they scored 20 runs from the first two overs. The first ball of the third over saw Cooper play the ball onto his stumps off the bowling of Fox. Dylan Murphy joined Davis at the crease and he showed how good his form has been this year as his first scoring shot was a six.

The game was staying very close as the Renegades scored 44 runs from the first five overs. Bressay Light when they were batting had scored 45 runs after five overs. Murphy looked set to reach 25 and retire, until he was outdone by the bowling of Bruce Crossan. The game was still very evenly poised when at the end of the eighth over the Renegades had reached a total of 64 runs, the same as Bressay Light had scored at the same point of their innings.

The big question was could the Renegades score at the same rate as Bressay Light managed for the last four overs? The answer to this was soon found out as Stephen Morgan took two wickets in two balls to put the game beyond the reach of the Renegades. Dylan Murphy was top scorer with 21 and Stephen Morgan took two wickets for 23 runs for Bressay Light. The knockout trophy once again went to Bressay Light.

The player of the week award went to Stephen Morgan from Bressay Light.