Old Eds manage victory over Pirates
HOUGHTON - The Old Edwardian Society’s cricket team emerged victorious after taking on Pirates during a league match between the two sides.
Ethan O’Rielly (3/23) proved to be a handful with his combination of speed, swing and seam, and these combined factors were the undoing of the Pirates top order batsmen. Matthew Varner (4/13) continued the destruction with good seam movement both ways, allied with speed, while David Sator (2/17) wrapped up the tail ensuring that Pirates were all out for 62.
Conditions continued to favour the bowlers until the Old Eds lost Daniel van Der Berg and Grant Roelofsen earlier on, but Andrew Kirkland (28) and the promoted John Nielson (50) saw Eds through to lunch.
Both players were riding their luck as they played and missed regularly, but good application saw them build the innings after the shaky start.
Gareth Harte (28) and Richard das Neves (75) continued the winning streak for the Eds, especially das Neves as he seemed to find the pitch easier to bat on than the other batsmen.
After Hart and das Neves were out, Charlie Vickery and Ryan Cook went all out to ensure that Old Eds passed the 220 mark to earn a bonus point, and the declaration came at 226/7.
This win, coming after a series of drawn matches, catapults the club into second place on the log.
