Amanzimtoti cricketers aim for return to form with season in full swing
The first team have played all four of their league fixtures so far at home.
THE cricket season is now well underway.
A combination of rain and school exams have curtailed the amount of cricket played so far this season by Amanzimtoti Cricket Club’s junior teams.
U15A, U13A and U11A are at the top of the league logs after the first few games they were able to play. The U11B team, made up from mostly eight and nine-year-old players, are trying hard and are developing nicely into a team for the future.
After a three week break for exams, the juniors will start practise again on Wednesday, 22 November, with their first games on Sunday, 3 December.
Any children between the ages of eight and 14-years-old who would like to play cricket are welcome to join in at practise in the nets on the Hutchison Oval on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5pm to 6.30pm. The club has a dedicated team of coaches waiting to help all children play cricket.
Due to all the problems that the club experienced last season in trying to fill the fourth and fifth teams for league matches, it has decided to do away with both these teams.
The third team is playing its cricket in division one, the second team in the Challenge Reserve and the first team is in the Challenge league.
The first team has set a goal of winning the league this season so they can be promoted to the Premier League. The second and third teams have had most of their games cancelled due to rain resulting in unplayable fields but have enjoyed the couple of games they have played so far.
The second team is playing demon cricket at the moment, reaching totals close to 400 runs and then bowling the opposition out for around 150 runs. Faf scored a brilliant 141 with Dave, Dean and the two Dylans contributing heavily to the scoring. Their bowling attack led by Sheldon, Dylan L and Dean is proving to be too strong for other teams at the moment. Long may it last.
The first team has played all four of its league fixtures so far at home. It has taken a lot of effort on the part of the ground staff and the players to ensure that the Oval was playable before each game, after all the rain. It would be nice if the team could reproduce the work ethic they show before the game, during the game too.
So far they have lost one and won three. The three wins were all ugly wins and the loss was not that they were beaten by a better team but rather by the team playing dumb cricket. This team oozes talent and fine cricketing ability but are struggling to find their form. So far individual performances with the bat or ball have saved them. Jarryd, Adam and Justin have at times been outstanding with their bowling while Jarryd, Wesley and Robin have shown glimpses of what talented batters they are. Little cameos for the rest of the players are certainly not going to help the team cause.
The team travels to Umzinto, then Harlequins before returning to the Oval to face Railways on 10 December before the Christmas break. Let’s hope they all find their true form soon, otherwise all their preparation and hard work at practise will be in vain.
