Fielding hits new low, Baston ripped apart.

By Guy Cunningham - May 17 2007
Fielding hits new low, Baston ripped apart.
Clown-like Fielding
If you want to take your kids to a cricket match this weekend to introduce them to some basic well-executed cricket fielding practices…don’t bring them to Baston. They welcome Spalding on Saturday for the first home game and will need to make vast improvements if they're to break their season duck.

Bank holiday weekend saw Baston slump to their second successive defeat in SLDiv2 this time away at Welby where they finished last season poorly. I’m afraid the fielding was again nowhere near up to the required standard and resulted in numerous dropped catches, miss-fields and overthrows contributing to Welby posting a daunting total of 225 on a pitch Baston skipper had no hesitation in putting Welby into bat.

 

Baston’s bowling also left a lot to be desired as openers Cunningham and Davies struggled for consistency and once again Baston gifted their opposition over 30 extras. Dyer stood out alone once again for Baston somehow finishing with figures of 5-48 for the second week running bowling in and around a circus of wides, beamers and miss-fields.

 

Baston new a good start and a healthy middle order partnership was essential, they got the good start they were after reaching 57-1 after 15 with Burton, Sismey and then Cunningham making steady progress. Instead of a healthy middle order partnership following the fall of Burton’s wicket, Baston’s second, a domino like collapse ensued.

 

Baston lost their remaining 9 wickets for 30 runs, losing by a healthy margin of 138 runs. A combination of good accurate bowling and poor shot execution costing the majority of the Baston batsman.

 

It was once said by a very wise man that good players should not get bowled…seven of the ten dismissed Baston batsman were bowled, two other  ‘’ batsman ‘’ were quite comically run out, you may draw your own conclusions on the quality/temperament of this current Baston side.

 

One of the comical run outs was spear chucker Stasiak backing up – comical only because I have never seen a twelve year old at mid-on stumble to a slow moving ball and execute an under arm direct hit and still beat the non-striker in his turning circle to reach home base...maybe he forgot to shout in.

 

Baston need to improve their basic fielding skills and batting temperament, and fast, if they are to make anything of their season.