Stari Grad

20th Apr 2013 - Foxes Oval Belgrade
Lost by 41 runs - NRR = -1.17

This match was not only CIPA’s first of the 2013 season, but also the very first on Serbia’s newest pitch. The gravitas of the occasion did not dampen Friday night’s activities, which were somewhat spurred on by some of our non-playing hosts. CIPA still turned up bleary-eyed to the Foxes Oval at 11.30am to witness the wicket being (literally) rolled out. The wicket was a surprisingly true carpet rolled out on a slab of concrete. Unfortunatley, the mixture of poor weather and concrete-pouring trucks made an ‘unpredictable’ outfield.

After some atrocious catching practice, captain Mark Jolly went to the square and as predicted, lost the toss. Our hosts (rather unsportingly) put CIPA into the field. The honour of the very first ball was given to Rob Patterson who used it to bowl a wide. The bowling performance improved after this, with Stari Grad showing Rob and Mark Jolly a lot of respect, only one wicket falling before the first change. After this, the wickets came quicker when Andy Spurr and Stuart Lumsden resumed their wicket-taking ways of 2012. Our hosts picked up the run-rate towards the end with Andy Grant and Dave Prothero each leaking over 5 an over. Stari Grad finished on 129 all out, which we thought was very attainable.

The Belgrade heat must have sapped whatever energy the team had as the first four wickets fell with barely any resistance. Andy Spurr came in at no. 6 after rushing to pad up, with just 6 runs on the board. A solid partnership was in the making with James Shearman but was broken by an excellent piece of fielding running out James ‘Bolt’ Shearman attempting a quick single. Next up was Rob ‘Collingwood’ Patterson who valiantly attempted a Cardiff 2009 style block-out; however, being a seasoned T20 player he could not resits the hoick to mid wicket. Andy Spurr soon followed suit, this time holeing-out to deep mid-on. At this point CIPA were 70 for 6 and there was still a slim chance of victory. However, Stari Grad held their nerve and after a spell of straight bowling, finished CIPA off for a paltry 88.

All things considered it was an enjoyable match and Stari Grad were very modest in their victory, which we were told was their first for some time!

Batting

Player	Runs scored	How Out	4s	6s	SR
Simon Thomas		LBW	0	0	0
Tony Williams	1	Bowled	0	0	50
Rob Jackson		Bowled	0	0	0
James Shearman	19	Run Out	0	1	95
Chris Milton		Bowled	0	0	0
Andy Spurr	29	Caught	3	1	67
Rob Patterson	7	Bowled	0	0	37
Stuart Lumsden		LBW	0	0	0
Andy Grant	3	LBW	0	0	33
Dave Prothero	5	Bowled	1	0	71
Mark Jolly	2*		0	0	40
Extras	22				-

CIPA - 88 for 10 off 24.1
Scorebook

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