RDCA T20 Report 2017-18
For the first time in several years, HBCC competed in the RDCA T20 competition in 2017-18. After a fairly shaky start in game 1 the boys competed really well in the three remaining games as we made it past the first stage.
Round 1 vs St Andrews
Our first game back in the competition was a bit of a forgetable one as the boys failed to fire a shot and were easily beaten by St Andrews. After winning the toss and batting first, things started well as we took 18 from the first over, but two quick wickets put us on the back foot at 2/27. A short period of consolidation followed as we got to 2/47 from 7 before the wheels completely fell off as we lost 5/7. Paulie (36) and Gary (17) shared in a good partnership to at least get us past 100 but we fell well short of a competitive total at 9/109 from our 20 overs.
Robby and Glenn started well with the ball and beat the bat regularly early before we grabbed a nice early wicket to give us some hope. Our opponents had former international Dimi Mascarenhas at the crease but he was struggling to get Rob and Glenn away. At 1/31 from 7 overs we were doing well before the game slipped away with a flurry of half trackers and full tosses. It took just five more overs for St Andrews to finish us off with 1/112.
Round 2 vs Scoresby
The second game saw us head out to Scoresby with the hope that the cobwebs were out of the way and we could put in an improved performance. This time we hit the field first and swung the bowlers around from the outset. All of the boys bowled plenty of good balls and if not for some dropped chances we could have done some early damage. Scoresby batted well and looked set for a big total before we finally took our catches and held them from getting completely away. In the end they finished with a competitive 5/166 with Braeden the best of the bowlers with 2/30.
Glenn opened up and got us another positive start with three boundaries in the first over, but when he and Pat fell in quick succession we were again up against iyt 2/16. Steve (72) and Josh (21) worked on steadying the ship as they put together a 73 run partnership to get us back in the game. Steve opened the shoulders as he smashed 4 sixes and 7 boundaries and at 3/136 with three overs to go we were in with a chance before Steve, Sean and Craig all fell in the chase for quick runs. Luke battled hard to turn the strike over and Braeden cleaned the boundary with a large one but in the end we fell short at 7/153. A much improved effort with us pushing Scoresby all the way.
Glenn opened up and got us another positive start with three boundaries in the first over, but when he and Pat fell in quick succession we were again up against iyt 2/16. Steve (72) and Josh (21) worked on steadying the ship as they put together a 73 run partnership to get us back in the game. Steve opened the shoulders as he smashed 4 sixes and 7 boundaries and at 3/136 with three overs to go we were in with a chance before Steve, Sean and Craig all fell in the chase for quick runs. Luke battled hard to turn the strike over and Braeden cleaned the boundary with a large one but in the end we fell short at 7/153. A much improved effort with us pushing Scoresby all the way.
Round 3 vs Wantirna
We took on Wantirna at our home ground for the knockout third game with the winner to advance through to the fourth round of the competition and the loser to be eliminated. We went into the field first again with some growing confidence following our improved round two performance.
We swung the bowlers around again with Braeden and Rob building lots of pressure early but we just couldn't break through as Wantirna's openers played well and rode their luck along the way. After ten overs they had moved to 0/70 as we still searched for that initial break-through. Wantirna upped the rate a bit over the next few overs and it took until the 18th over for us to get on the board with a 141 opening partnership. From there we managed to stop them in the last few overs and grab a few more to see them finish with a competitive 4/149.
Our batting got underway in great style as Ethan mauled the first few balls with two of them clearing the big foul ball fence at mid wicket as he looked to dominate the bowling early. With 44 on the board after just 15 balls, Ethan was unfortunately bowled going for an even bigger hit. His 33 from just 14 balls had got us well underway and ahead of the rate. From here Rob and Pat settled into a solid partnership and when Pat was dismissed for a patient 20 the game was under control at 2/114 after twelve overs. Rob finished off with a fine 68n.o as we claimed victory with 3/152 from just 17.1 overs.
Round 4 vs St Andrews
The boys were positive we could vastly improve on our round one performance as we again headed to Manson Reserve to take on St Andrews for a spot in the semi finals. With two improved performances we again went into the field first.
The boys started well with the ball but the elusive breakthrough eluded us as they advanced to 43 without loss from the first six. The next few overs saw the rewards come form continued tight bowling and some great fielding. Braeden took a brilliant one handed running catch on the boundary to kickstart things followed by a bit of a collapse with 4/10 as Sean imposed himself with two wickets and a great direct hit run out. The lads continued to apply pressure and Braeden grabbed a couple more wickets to see them 8/102 from 18 overs. In the end they got to 8/120 from the 20 as their order hit some key runs. Braeden finished with the great amazing figures of 3/10 from his four overs.
We went into bat with a very achievable target. Ethan looked dangerous immediately with another towering six in the first over but when he fell in the third over, immediately followed by Rob we had stumbled to 2/16. We held things together from there to be 3/50 after 11 with the target still well in reach. The story from there was wickets falling all too regularly as we finished at 9/90 from our 20 overs with just Steve (44 not out) and Pat (10) reaching double figures.
A disappointing finish but again a pleasing effort to push a more seasoned T20 outfit. After several years of absence from the competition we finished with one win, and two competitive efforts which was pleasing after an awful start.