Optimists Cricket Club

The boys from Gent, came all the way from Gent to have a knock on our beautifully prepared ground. The grass was short, the field flat as a chapati, and there was a feeling in the air that the 2nd eleven would finally win a match. It rained a bit in the morning, but, as so often in Walferdange, there was no rain to be seen during play.

Skipper Will Stock won the toss, and elected to bat first. After a slow start, loosing opener Simon Norcross early, runs were coming at a pace of 4 an over, thanks to a semi-solid partnership of Mohit and Piers Hampton. After their real bowlers all had bowled about 5 overs, they put on their secret weapons : Nikki and Charles. Two absolute mystery slow bowlers. They cut through our middle order like a warm knife through butter. Saran Narayanan, Jeroen van der Knoop, Robert Deed, all wanted too much, and all got out cheaply by being caught. Skipper Will and Sriram Venkatachalam made a brave last stand, adding 60 something to our total. In the end though, Mr Wide was the highest scorer. OCC had a total of 215 to defend.

Gent started batting with part-time batters. Our bowlers kept them below the required run rate, and wickets were falling nicely. When finally a proper batsman entered, the run rate picked up a bit, and we did not take our chances to get him out : 2 drop catches in the slips, one at 3rd man. This guy had 9 lives, and he knew it. He stayed in till the end, scoring a handsome 90 something. Regrettably to admit, Mr Wide was also a big contributor to their score. With 3 overs to spare, they reached the target.
All in all, a good day of cricket.

Jeroen van der Knoop