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  • Day 24

    VS Kelvinside

    May 14, 2016 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Today saw The Glasgow Academy play their second home game of the season against Kelvinside in a 20/20 match. Blue skies stood tall and far and the scorching heat made for the perfect conditions for a great game of cricket. Having won the toss, Kelvinside decided to put a score on the board. Captain John Oliver (2-0-6-0) and Arman Khan (2-1-9-1) opened with a 2 over spell apiece. Despite early movement, it took 12 balls before the first wicket came in the form of a brilliant bit of bowling from Khan leading to one of the openers feathering an edge through to keeper Fraser Gordon. The over finished as a wicket maiden; however, a partnership threatened to develop after this wicket and it took the guile and control of the pick of the bowlers today - Ruairidh Russell (4-1-7-4) - to break it. From this point onwards, The Glasgow Academy controlled the innings. The ever dangerous Adam McMurray (2-0-4-1), who is fast becoming a proficient wicket-taker with his zippy left arm action, and Jamie Percival (2.3-1-6-2) with his deadly accuracy made sure that the Kelvinside innings never quite got back on track. A resurgence from their number 7 was sadly ended by a knee injury but in the spirit of cricket, John Oliver offered the last batsman the chance to bat, with a runner at the other end. Nonetheless, the efficiency of this effective bowling attack was admirable, with the opposition reaching 36 all out after 12.3 overs. Notably, there were only 8 extras in these overs, of which 4 were byes and this is an aspect of the bowlers' games that has definitely improved considerably. Fraser Gordon was once again reliable behind the stumps, giving his all every delivery and making sure the bowlers hit the right areas. Overall, a commendable performance. However, the score still had to be chased, and John Oliver and Arman Khan ensured that the total was gunned down with all 10 wickets in hand at an economy rate of just under 9. Once again, the right spirit was showcased by TGA, as the opposition required some fielders to make up their 11 on the field which we duly supplied. Whilst Khan (4 off 7 not out) struggled to find the middle in a bid to make use of the small boundary, John Oliver hit 26 not out off 19 deliveries and produced three marvellous sixes over the deep midwicket boundary. Having watched John since February, the confidence and charisma that now overflows in each and every one of his shots is a product of tremendous amounts of training and hard work and this was certainly on show today. Nevertheless, cricket is a game involving every player, and once again everyone did their best in the field and albeit a tough chance at mid off and a botched run out attempt, fielding was superb: Greg MacMillan took a brilliant high catch at mid off from an Adam McMurray high full toss and for the most part, runs were restricted. A valiant bowling effort, led by Russell, was what set the win up today and the effort of each and every bowler must be appreciated. On the win, coach Mr Hariharan said "A very good team performance, the boys are learning what a good feeling winning is!" whilst captain Oliver said: "Today was brilliant. I was extremely impressed with the character with which every player performed. [On his 'spirit of cricket' moments] Yes I think it is vital we play in the right spirit. It only seemed natural for us to offer fielders and for the last batsman to bat on and I'm happy that the entire team felt this way too.". Next week, we face Hutchesons' Grammar School in what should be a 30 over match. On a slightly more general note, our win-loss record (including Dubai) currently sits at 5-3. Of those three, one was a stellar Dubai cricket side which we faced around 24 hours after touching down in Dubai, one was an extremely narrow loss which could quite possibly be attributed to an unfortunate injury, and the last was a sporting school renowned for its cricket. If the calibre of our victorious oppositions is anything to by, then the 1st XI is turning out to be an absolutely sensational team.Read more