Disappointing start for Florida’s First XI
FCC slumps to 49-run loss
The Florida Cricket club’s First XI played their first match of the new year against their rivals Joburg Cricket Club (JCC).
Although the game was initially listed as a home game, JCC graciously made their facilities available for the fixture, as Florida’s home ground was still under maintenance.
With the cricketers returning from an inspirational training camp, as well as a couple of net sessions to warm up, all signs indicated that the First XI might just record their first victory.
Florida’s captain, Deen Kimmie won the toss, and with the pitch geared for a bowling attack, he decided to send in JCC and test their batsmen. This turned out to be a good choice, as the first seven wickets fell for a meager 118 runs. With all the top batsmen removed, it was just a case of closing them up, but JCC’s John Machava and Vijay Sooknanan had other plans. They managed to double the score, with JCC posting a total of 236 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs.
Florida’s batters were confident that they would be able to seal the deal when they started their innings promisingly. With 128 runs on the board, the only blot on the scorecard was the disappointing loss of the wickets of Kushdeep Nanra and Jason Onslow. Darian du Bruyn was bowled with the total on 161, and with only 70 runs to get with five wickets in hand and a pile of overs left, the supporters and management were already prepping the celebration cheer.
But, it seemed that the heat, coupled with the pressure and some other factors on the field took its toll, and the last five wickets fell for only 26 runs – 49 runs short. To make matters worse, JCC was awarded a bonus point win, which could have been avoided if Florida’s batters managed to score only one more run.
Even though this game was lost, Florida’s First XI does not have much time to dwell on it, as they will be playing JCC again in their next match – a back-to-back fixture.
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