This past weekend saw Plumtree School hosting opponents Midlands Christian College (MCC). The game was quite a shocker and provided great entertainment. Plumtree School lost the game by 29 runs, which was very disappointing considering the sequence of events during the game.

Plumtree won the toss and opted to put MCC in to bat. The teams agreed upon a 40-over game due to lack of time, which made for interesting cricket. The two openers for MCC did a good job and accrued a first-wicket partnership of 47 runs. Plumtree eventually broke through and took the first wicket thanks to a great ball bowled by C. Makotose. He bowled out his allocated eight overs and ended with impressive figures, two wickets for just 12 runs. Plumtree then decided to use a spin bowler in R. Lombard. This proved to be a bad decision as his first four overs saw him sent for 34 runs.

At tea MCC were 57 for 1. After tea Lombard resumed bowling and did much better in his next four-over spell. He took one wicket for an amazing 5 runs considering his first spell, which put him at one for 39. The rest of the team did well in the field but too many extras were conceded, a total of 24. At the end of their innings, MCC managed to add 30 runs in the last four overs, bringing their score to 139 runs for the loss of nine wickets.

Before lunch Plumtree faced four overs and were 16 for no loss. Opening batsmen G. Hudson and J. Rogers (capt) went on to build a commendable first-wicket partnership of 70 runs, which saw out the best bowlers MCC had to offer. Rogers ended his innings on 31 runs after playing a shot that popped up in the air off a bad defensive shot. The catch was routine and this saw the entry of R. Lombard. Hudson was then bowled in the next over with his total on 20 runs. This then saw an over haul of three wickets in the same number of balls, giving MCC a team hat-trick. After Hudson, Makotose came in and was caught after a poor shot for a golden duck. This was thanks to the bowling of J. Raath who took two wickets in his first over. The first ball of the next over saw Lombard given out lbw, bringing the third wicket in a row.

The score now stood at 81 for four. From there on Plumtree batted badly and failed to reach the required total, making just 110 runs off 33 overs, 30 runs short of the target. The middle-order batsmen scored 19 runs for the loss of six wickets. This truly led to the downfall of the team. They showed a lack of maturity and generally were complacent due to overconfidence. This was a lesson well learnt. The next game will be against C.B.C. (Christian Brothers College of Bulawayo), who have also had a run of bad luck. Losing their first two games, this surely will be a great game.

PLUMTREE v CHRISTIAN BROTHERS COLLEGE (CBC)

The game was played at CBC on a very warm day. These two sides have been close contenders before with some excellent games in the past, but this game was not of the same calibre. Plumtree School once again proved their lack of concentration on the field.

Plumtree won the toss and opted to field first due to a slightly wet track. Plumtree were missing star bowler and batsman C. Makotose. The first three wickets fell for 45 runs thanks to great bowling from J. Rogers and C. Pholi. Rogers, who managed to take two wickets for 61 runs in 15 overs, bowled well in his first spell. He managed to take a wicket thanks to a clever slow ball.

After the loss of three wickets, R. Rixon-Fuller (captain) and A. Evans came in and put up a great partnership of 192 runs, seeing Rixon-Fuller manage a century and score 114 runs. Plumtree had dropped him while on 5 runs, which proved very costly. This was the story of the Plumtree team, with 8 dropped catches in total. The bowlers failed to bowl line and length and were duly punished by the fourth and fifth batsmen. At lunch C.B.C. were 247 for four. They then decided to declare and put Plumtree in to bat.

The Plumtree side were to be shocked by some excellent bowling by C.B.C. The first wicket fell after just five minutes and from then on wickets fell at a steady rate. This was thanks to superb bowling by S. Kusano. He managed to attain some tremendous statistics, taking seven wickets for just 17 runs in 12 overs. He showed great variation and totally outfoxed the batsmen. S. Stirling partnered him very well with two wickets for 11 runs off seven overs. At tea the score was at 41 for 9. Plumtree were eventually bowled out for 49, 198 runs short of the required target.

The batting let the team down with the best score being a mere 8 runs. Plumtree will be looking to revamp their spirits and put more commitment into their following games. The next game will be against Petra at Plumtree School.

MATCH SUMMARY

C.B.C.		4/247 (decl)	R. Rixon-Fuller 114 runs, A. Evans 70 runs
		J. Rogers	15o – 61r – 2 wkts
		C. Pholi	12o – 61r – 1 wkt
		R. Lombard	10o – 32r – 0 wkts
		H. Dube	        2o – 10r – 1 wkt
 

Plumtree	10/49
 		S. Kusano	12.2o – 17r – 7 wkts
		S. Stirling	7o – 11r – 2 wkts
		D. Mutopo	5o – 16r – 1 wkt

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