Wildcats Come Up Short in Scottish Cup v Grange
On a glorious evening at Raeburn Place, the Wildcats lost to Grange in the Scottish Cup by 26 runs. Grange 123 for 2 – Watsonian Wildcats 97 for 8
Grange elected to bat on winning the toss and proceeded to make good use of a great batting track. Some of the Wildcats bowling was a bit loose in the early stages and the Grange batsmen made full use and peppered the boundary with a succession of fours. Gradually, the bowlers began to hit a line and length bringing the scoring rate down and good spells from Adam Hastings (4 overs for 12 runs) and Alasdair Middleton (4 overs for 16 runs) put us back in the match.
The Grange batsmen were very watchful of this and worked hard to keep their wicket whilst keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Once their eye was in, it became easier for them to hit the bad balls for four which they did with some expertise. They were aided by some poor Wildcats fielding, due to elementary mistakes allowing Grange to benefit from 10-15 runs at a crucial time. It took a couple of great stops by David McLean to remind the others of the standard required.
The bowlers battled on, working hard to keep the total down and the last few overs were excellent with Jamie Cousin coming back and completing his spell tidily. Grange completed their innings on 123 for 2
At the “half-time” team chat, all agreed that the total was manageable and the key was not to lose wickets, get your eye in and create some good partnerships. Regrettably, we were unable to put this in to practice as the top order batsmen all started to get their eye in but then got themselves out, mainly due to poor shot selection. Patience is a great virtue when batting but most seemed too keen to increase the scoring rate before they were ready.
As a result, wickets fell on a regular basis leaving a difficult task for the lower order. Kerr Stoddart and Alex Boyd both both batted well and top scored with 17 runs each, but by then they were chasing a target of around 10 an over.
Good luck to Grange for the rest of the tournament and for the Wildcats, time for reflection on an evening where the team played below their capabilities. At the conclusion of the match, I asked each of the players to consider where they could improve on their performance that evening and to work hard at their training sessions. However, hard work in the nets is never the complete answer and cricket matches are often won through good thought process as well as scoring runs and taking wickets. So for all the batsmen, take this thought every time you put on the pads…… I will not lose my wicket.
