Wanderers v Downlands College
13 February, 2019
Downlands College, Toowoomba
It has been hot the last few weeks, but the 37.3 deg. maximum today at Downlands was certainly the pick of the bunch. Youngsters Todd Anderson and Sam Morris struggled with the no-pace wicket early, but then accelerated before Todd succumbed and lofted one to mid-off. Will Carty joined Sam for an undefeated 64 run partnership from just 57 balls with Sam bringing up a fine 50 along the way.
A highlight of the day followed as Downlands’ Ellie Johnston came on to bowl her leg-spin in tandem with fellow leggie Matt Duffin. The pair combined beautifully, but it was Ellie’s day with 7 wickets in her 8-over spell, including a remarkable 4 wickets in 7 balls, reducing Wanderers from 3/128 to 7/129.
Sheldon Stackpole and Patrick Carty came to the rescue at the end of the innings to add some respectability to the score and guide Wanderers to a hard-fought 194 from 40 overs.
Downlands openers looked the goods early before some individual brilliance in the field from Paddy Cotter, brought about a run out with batsmen attempting a 3rd. 1/23 became 3/34 as Troy Robbins nabbed a couple. Then, a trio of 20 partnerships in the middle order were broken by Paddy Cotter and a wily John Stackpole.
A spectacular 37 run partnership in just 25 balls (Matt Duffin & Angus Koch) added some excitement at the end and guided Downlands to 162; just 31 short of the Wanderers total. Todd Anderson was on hand to snap up three wickets at the death.
Paddy Cotter was a ball magnet throughout the day, fielding beautifully to cut off boundaries and on the spot to take three catches. Sam Morris was tidy behind the stumps picking up a stumping and a catch. Paul Burman and Will Carty also picked up catches and John Stackpole pulled off a cracker at cover to bring the Downlands innings to a close in the last over.
Downlands Player of the Match - Ellie Johnston
Thank you to Downlands for a great day.
