Penned by Mark “Warney” Mitton
It loomed to be an important day for South Road as they continued their Round 2 match against Coromandel Ramblers at Weymouth Oval. Having set a good total of 212 on the board on Day 1, it was always going to be difficult to chase for the Ramblers. Under nothing but blue skies, South Road began with the same intensity as they did against Port Noarlunga, with positive talk amongst the fielders as they looked to get their first win on the board. The openers, Edmiston and Muir could not lay a bat on either Bocock or Petersen early on and they were setting themselves up for diaster. It was inevitable when Bocock trapped Edmiston lbw for 1 with not many runs on the board for the Ramblers.
In came Ramblers Captain, Steve Davenport with memories of a first ball dismissal facing Poul Petersen from some years ago fresh in his mind, no doubt. Davenport got a nice shot for four away early but that was about all as Petersen looked to create havoc amongst the Coromandel side. He bowled Muir with a peach for 9, then trapped his old mate, Davenport lbw. Davenport claimed to have hit the ball but it was felt that he was just disappointed to be dismissed by Petersen again. The only consolation for poor old Steve was that he wasn’t dismissed first ball this time. At drinks the Ramblers were 3 for 19 after 15 overs and from there they were right out of the contest with 2 new batsmen in at the wicket.
South Road continued applying the pressure by bowling a tight line and length to the batsmen. David Ewers replaced Bocock from the Northern end and he didn’t give the batsmen an inch. This was living proof when bowled Aidan Mackereth with a beauty. That brought in David Herbert, who needed to build a partnership with Mark Withers to get the Ramblers innings back on track. However, both Ewers and Petersen had other ideas and continued strangling the batsmen with some consistent bowling. Dave Ewers trapped Herbert in front, lbw for 1. Youngster Jett Grund came out to the wicket and he looked to get himself in by playing some solid defensive shots. he wasn’t comfortable against Petersen, who bowled him on a no-ball. The way Petersen was bowling, it wouldn’t be long before one of the batsmen fell and that’s what it proved as he trapped Withers lbw.
Wayne Jones fell not long after to Petersen in the same manner as Withers lbw. Another young player, Michael Sadler came out to bat and he showed his intentions by playing some shots against Petersen and Ewers, but by the second drinks break, the Ramblers were in dire straits at 7 for 54. Poul Petersen had bowled his allotted 15 overs and boy, what a spell of bowling! It was relentless to say the least! Petersen had figures of 15 overs 2 maidens 4 for 20. He was unfortunate to bowl a few front foot no-balls, which two of them could have been wickets. He could have nearly taken all 10 wickets, with the amount of opportunities that he created with a couple of missed catches by the Keeper, whoever he was, that were difficult for the fielders. That’s how well Petersen bowled. It was another superb effort with the ball. He is proving to be a real asset for the South Road IV team.
After drinks, Josh Ewers replaced his father, David at the Northern End and he bowled well but Sadler took a liking to him dispatching him for six near the fine leg boundary. But Josh got his man, going for one too many, missing and knocking the stumps out of the ground. Sadler had batted well for his 18 and put together the highest partnership of the inings with Grund. They put together 34 runs.
Skipper Roger Nunn decide to pull a rabbit out of the hat by doing something the batsmen or South Road didn’t see coming. Instead of giving the ball to a more experienced bowler, he threw the ball to Mr Mark ‘Shane Warne’ Mitton, to bowl some spin. The first over wasn’t too bad with Sharman hitting Warney for four over cover, but the Magic Man bounced back to concede 5 from his first over. Not bad. Second over, Mitton bowled a rank long hop outside off stump which young Grund, who was no doubt tired and keen to have a slog, had a go at and it resulted in a top edge. Darren Percival was under it at slip. He took it safely to hand Mitton his first wicket in Senior Cricket.
Warney was beside himself as was the skipper, who had placed his confidence in his new found spinner and had been rewarded. Ramblers had 1 wicket remaining as Zac Howell joined Ben Sharman at the wicket. 1 run conceded off the second over. Josh Ewers nearly delivered the killer blow but wasn’t able to. The batsmen survived. Mitton was hit for four, then two, but bowled another long hop which Sharman saw and his eyes lit up. He smoked it in the air……. straight down Dave Ewers’ throat at mid off, who juggled the ball but held the catch to give Mitton his second wicket and to end proceedings early on.
South Road were winners by 124 runs in an excellent display of cricket all round. There were high fives and handshakes going around the team. It had been well earnt after the battle last year, which saw the D Grade not win a game in Section 5. It was the first victory for some of the players and also for the Captain, Roger Nunn at South Road as a Player as well as a Captain. The general effort in the field was terrific with everyone backing one another up and giving each other encouragement. The bowling was excellent all-round but the standout was undoubtedly, Poul Pedersen, who bowled a sharp and relentless spell. His experience is very valuable for the younger players at South Road. He deserves to be Man of The Match. Dave Ewers bowled a terrific spell also with figures of 7 overs 3 maidens 2 for 11. He was brilliant. He also took a good catch to end the game and scored 15 not out with the bat. He will be a good contributor to the team as well.
Credit must go to the Captain. Roger Nunn for giving Mark Mitton a bowl before others. It turned to be an inspired move and a stroke of genius. Mark bowled well taking 2 wickets, but he concedes that there is a hell of a lot of improvement to be made throughout the season with both bat and ball. He only has his Captain to thank for displaying that sort of confidence in him. Jordan Bocock and Josh Ewers bowled well and took a wicket each. A great win by the Roadhouse, who are now 1 win and 1 loss and sit sixth on the ladder. They now have the tough task of playing Warradale at Brighton High next week. It will be a challenge and also a cracker of a contest. Well done to the Roads.