B Grade battle: Rutherglen outpaces Delatite in hot conditions

DELATITE’S B-grade game against Rutherglen United on the weekend saw a number of highlights that brightened an otherwise disappointing afternoon. As the mercury approached thirty degrees Rutherglen United chose to bat and put Delatite into the field. Both openers got off to a steady start, and accelerated the scoring despite wickets to Andrew Cook and Ben Martin who snagged a fine diving return catch. Opener Adrian Roach and No. four Kurt Schmidt took Rutherglen to drinks at a solid 2/95, while Delatite’s bowlers and fielders took the break to cool off and rehydrate. Regular runs followed the break, Rutherglen not slowing down even after the loss of Roach on a game-high of 67 when he missed a hearty swing at a straight ball from Martin. Four wickets in four overs meant that Rutherglen was unable to capitalize on their solid foundation, highlights being the second father/son wicket combination for the season, Martin taking a solid catch from his son Cooper Martin. This was soon followed by the first brotherly wicket combination, younger brother Nixen taking a screamer off Cooper’s following over. Martins senior and junior finished with the best bowling figures of 2/28 and 2/29 respectively, Rutherglen finishing on a solid but chaseable 8/178. Unfortunately, the chase ended almost as quickly as it had started, Delatite slumping to 3/1 in the fourth over. When Richie Philip departed after a short but swashbuckling 18 Delatite were 5/21 and the heat had gone out of both the day and the game. Solid watchfulness and careful strokeplay by U16s Felix O’Meara and Nixen Martin helped keep the innings from falling apart, but it was returning veteran Peter Scales who was the outstanding contributor, facing 22 overs and demonstrating to the top order how to navigate good bowling while still keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Delatite batted out their allotted overs and finished on 8/67, a reasonable outcome considering the disastrous start but still a performance that is still well off the pace.

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