FPs were well beaten by a strong Mannofield side on the opening day of the new season beaten by 101 runs. FPs dropped vital catches, fielded poorly and failed to apply themselves with the bat in complete contrast from Mannofield who batted well with a fine 62 from Gavin Jamieson and 45 from Will Anderson. Shorten then claimed 3 for 12 after good spells by Anderson and Gavin Jamieson. For FPs Vijapur bowled well and was unlucky to only claim 3 for 46 as numerous chances went down and Gary Stuart also suggested better days were ahead after changing his action to take 2 for 43. Only a gritty 27 from skipper Morrison and a solid 20 from Senthil were worthy of mention with the bat.
FPs won the toss at Harlaw on a cold day and asked Mannofield to bat, with the game starting slightly late in anticipation of the neutral umpire who was due to be slightly late but in fact never arrived at all. FPs got off to a great start as Vijapur bowled West 2nd ball for a duck. It could of and should have been better for FPs as Mappleback spilled a routine chance at point early in Jamieson’s innings and Stuart missed Devadas in the gully. This allowed the pair to add 104 in 17 overs, with Jamieson playing some graceful straight drives and Devadas particularly strong against anything short. Chovatiya was off colour conceding 35 in his 4 overs and Mapplebeck despite bowling with good pace struggled with his run up. He did though eventually get the breakthrough, with a hostile short ball that Devadas could not control and wicketkeeper Booth claimed the top edge to remove him for 40. A slightly off-colour looking Russell had an incredible let off first ball as he was adjudged not out to a seemingly dead straight ball from Stuart.
Jamieson passed 50, hitting 9 boundaries, but miscued a short ball from the impressive Stuart where the ever reliable Paul McDonald claimed a smart catch at mid on. A cautious Russell fell soon after, superbly caught at slip by a diving Senthil off Knudson. Stuart then claimed Findlay well caught off a loose delivery by Chovatiya and suddenly Mannofield were 126 for 5. Johnston was quickly removed for 6 by Knudson, trying a big shot over mid wicket, but dropped catches continued to dog FPs as Anderson played some glorious drives and ran intelligently to race to 45 before being well yorked by Vijapur. Jamieson was run out after a mix up for 12 and McDonald held a good catch on the boundary to end Shorten’s brief innings and to hand Vijapur (3-46) a 3rd wicket.
Mannofield batted on for a 46th over and close on an impressive 210 for 9, with Mapplebeck 1 for 43, Stuart 2-43 and Knudson 2 for 34 the other FP bowling figures.
Morrison opened with Vijapur and the impressive opening bowler, 12 year old C Shorten struck in his first over, Vijapur LBW for 4. FPs were soon 6 for 2 as Samani was LBW 2nd ball for a duck, dangerously offering no shot to an inswinger, although the line was good, most people were of the view it was easily clearing the stumps but importantly the FP umpire thought it was hitting and sent Samani on his way.
Booth came in at 4 and played with his usual aggression hitting 3 boundaries in a stand of 30 in 3 overs but when Russell was moved to long off, Booth inexplicably chose to hit the next ball, a long half volley straight down his throat, resulting in a good catch and reward for some good captaincy by Johnston.
Senthil joined Morrison and they battled manfully for 13 overs, Senthil taking 15 from Gavin Jamieson’s opening over but in general playing within himself for the good of his side. Anderson was generating good pace at the other end but Morrison was digging in, without adding many runs and it came as a bit of a surprise when Senthil followed one from Anderson to allow keeper Devedas to claim a simple catch to dismiss Senthil for 20.
Paul McDonald joined Morrison and fired 11 runs quickly before another good move by Johnston had McDonald caught the ball after West had been repositioned to mid off, S Shotten the wicket taker. New man Mapplebeck joined his skipper, but in the 31st over, FPs were dealt a body blow as Morrison played a slightly loose defensive shot and was bowled off his pads by Jamieson for 27. Mappleback looked in fine form but was run out in comical circumstances after a mix up with Khan and soon after Khan was run out in an even more ridiculous circumstances for 5.
S Shorten then clean bowled Chovatiya and Stuart for ducks as Mannofield bowled out FPs for just 109, the last 6 wickets going down for 25. Anderson was unlucky to only claim 1 for 11 in 7 overs, but the pressure he created allowed Shorten to claim 3 for 12.
Overall Mannofield were deserved victors in a game played in excellent spirit, but FPs could have helped themselves if they had taken the catches which came their way. It will need a much improved performance with the bat and in the field against Methlick next week if FPs are to get some points on the board, but FPs will boosted by the return of Sam Knudson with bat, ball and in the field after almost 2 seasons of injury. Tenneti’s batting will also boost FPs as his steady influence was badly missed.
One response to “Mannofield too strong for FPs”