The Napa Valley Cricket Club lost its first game of the season, away to Marin CC, on Saturday, May 17 on a day of many firsts for the club.
First loss of 2014. First loss to Marin CC since June 2012. First game of cricket for new American member Brett Weis. First time the Napa Valley club have batted all the way down their order in 2014!
On a cool day, relative to the heat of the preceding week, NVCC captain Marin Mackenzie won the toss and opted to put Marin into bat at picturesque Piper Park.
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His decision paid quick dividends as opening bowler Bernie Peacock had Marin batsman Jason Wright caught off the last ball of the first over by Bijoy Ojha. This bright start by the NVCC was muted by a fine partnership between Marin batsmen Minesh Govenji (69 off 68 balls) and Jim White (13 off 41).
The pair laid a strong foundation for Marin and despite the excellent bowling of Peacock, Mackenzie, Inderjeet Singh and Dale Moorehouse Napa Valley didn’t get another wicket until the 14th over as Govenji and Pitman put on 61 runs for the second Marin wicket.
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From that point onwards NVCC has more success with the ball and wickets at regular intervals for Peacock, Ojha, Singh and Moorehouse helped the NVCC to keep Marin to a very chasable target of 210 runs in the allotted 40 overs.
Napa Valley were strong in the field with catches taken by American Brett Weis, Irishman Andrew Healy, Ojha, Mackenzie, two fine takes from wicket-keeper Jeff Keene and a stunning caught and bowled by Peacock.
After lunch NVCC set out to chase their target with captain Mackenzie opening the batting with Healy. The pair started solidly, if cautiously, with the highlight of their seven over partnership a majestic 6 by Healy that sailed over “cow corner”.
Healy’s departure brought Keene to the crease and the New Zealander partnered up with his compatriot Mackenzie to good effect adding 34 runs for the second NVCC wicket.
Napa Valley were looking strong at this stage but a succession of cheap wickets, Keene (13 off 26), Ojha (2 off 6), Moorehouse (4 off 5), Singh (4 off 4) saw them falter. Mackenzie fell to the slow bowling of Australian Craig McIntyre and Napa Valley limped to the 20 over drinks break with only 87 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
Club President Phil Bourke (30 off 38) sparked a resurgence of sorts in NVCC’s run chase and with fellow Australian Scott Curwood (18 off 22) added valuable runs. But it was Pete Carson (32 off 31) who with support from the tail-enders added a degree of respectability to the NVCC’s final score.
Carson clubbed the Marin bowlers to all corners of the field in a valiant attempt to salvage the game. He was supported on debut by American Weis who himself added some valuable runs in his first ever game of cricket.
His five runs off seven balls that he faced saw him contribute more to the team’s score that many seasoned players who had batted above him in the order. NVCC ultimately ran out of time and batsmen and ended up with a score of 180, falling 29 runs short of Marin.
The traditional Clos du Val “Man of the Match” Award went to Minesh Govenji of Marin CC for his great performances with the bat that laid the foundation for a strong team total.
“We always look forward to playing Marin,” said Club Captain Mackenzie “they are a great bunch of guys and the ground is one of the most pleasant we get to play at. Unfortunately we were unable to extend our winning run against them.
Despite a tidy effort in the field some disciplined and varied spin bowling half way through our inning undid our batsmen. On the bright side all our team got a chance to have a bat, with most of our less likely players, including our latest American recruit Brett, outshining the established batsman and getting amongst the runs”
Next Home Game
Saturday 14th June 2014 at The Fairgrounds in Calistoga vs. Marin CC from 10.30am (check website for details)
Sponsors
The Napa Valley Cricket Club wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following sponsors
Clos du Val, Cork Supply USA, Tonnellerie Saint Martin, Biagi Bros., Oracle, go vino, Chandon, The Ciatti Company, Rebel Dog Hot Dogs, and Calistoga Roastery.
Score Summary
Marin CC 209/9 beat Napa Valley CC 180 all out by 29 runs. (40 over game / 12 batting)
Napa Valley CC Batting – Martin Mackenzie 40 runs off 57 balls (4 x 4, 1 x 6), Pete Carson 32 off 31 (1 x 4, 1 x 6), Phil Bourke 30 off 38 (3 x 4).
Napa Valley CC Bowling – Bernie Peacock 4 wickets for 18 runs off 8 overs incl. 2 maidens, Bijoy Ojha 2 for 33 off 6, Dale Moorehouse 1 for 39 off 7.
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