Wednesday saw Madness and Master Batters face off against each other, with Madness winning the toss and decided to bat first sending Callum and Luke into open.
Callum (33/36) built a few picket fences, (singles definitely count in this game) as we saw Luke (14/16) being dismissed on the fourth over.
Captain Berry joined Callum at the crease but unfortunately returned sooner than expected as the second wicket fell. The next 5 overs had some very strong bowling from MB with Madness scoring 35 runs that came at a cost of 5 wickets (15th 7/106).
The last three overs and with 10 wickets down, Madness were all out for 139. Pick of the bowlers were Garth (3/12 of 2, Joel (1/5 of 2) and Geoff (1/7 of 2).
Chasing 140 and needing 7 runs an over, Mr Joyce (25/14) and Nick got off to the perfect start scoring 20 runs of the first 2 overs.
Getting a bit over excited after hitting two 4s in a row, Nick was caught in the third over leaving MB 1/32. Mark J joined Joycey and the two rotated the strike.
Joycey retired in the 4th over bringing Geoff into bat but sadly this wasn't his night as he was sent packing after two balls. After the first 5 overs MB were right on target and 10 runs ahead of Madness at the same stage (2/44).
Keeping up with the run rate of 7 runs an over, MB found themselves 3/77 at the halfway mark.
Madness kicked it up a notch with their bowling, restricting MB to just 20 runs in the next 5 overs upping the required run rate to 8.6 (6/97). After losing three wickets in the next 2 overs, it was down to the last batsman 'The Blind Man' himself Joel, and returning retiree Mr Joyce needing 30 runs of 18 balls.
It just wasn't to be for MB as Joel (15/13) was caught on the boundary on the the 19th over leaving MB 16 runs shy of the victory. Bowling shout outs Kyle (2/11 of2) Madness. Man of the Match was Callum. Friday night saw the Bush Chooks winning the toss and electing to set a target for the Willow Warriors.
With WW's strong batting line up the BushChooks needed a good start and that's what they got with openers Cody (19) and Al (22) putting on 39 runs before Cody was bowled in the sixth over.
With the run rate slowly dropping and wickets falling in consecutive overs after that.
Things were looking up with 13 runs coming from the 10 over to take Bush Chooks 4/73, however Seb (19) was dismissed the very next over.
With Bevo (25) playing the anchor role the Chooks looked to up the run rate but with the constant fall of wickets they only managed 5 runs an over for the last 5 overs taking the total to 8/129.
Chasing 130 for victory, the Willow Warriors started off with a flourish. Garsty(27) retired after facing just 11 balls, and the Chooks fought back, picking up wickets in the third and fourth overs to have the Warriors 2/45 after the first quarter.
After the change of ends the Warriors continued to score above the required run rate with Ozzy (25) and Zac (26 including three 4's and a 6) also retiring.
The Warriors continued to chase down the runs in the 17th over, finishing their 20 overs at 5/154. Man of the match was Captain Ozzie.
Sons of Pitches face Finbats
In the third week of the Chicken Treat Margaret River T20 Big Bash, the guys all seem to be settling back in. Tuesday night saw the Sons Of Pitches face the Finbats. The atmosphere at the ground has been awesome and gets better with each game.
SOPs won the toss and elected to bat first with only 10 men. Openers Alan and Will got off to a great start scoring 37 runs of the first three overs before Will was dismissed late in the fourth over, Nicholas (25/22) then joined Alan (34/20) at the crease; with both retiring and a few more wickets lost, SOPs were 3/76 at the halfway mark.
The next three overs proved tough for SOPs as the wickets fell with only 7 runs being made (5/83). The 14th over saw the run rate creep up a bit and SOPs weren't giving up without a fight.
With Dan and Brenno at the crease and 17th over producing 20 runs, Brenno was sadly dismissed for 23/18 bringing retiree Alan back and SOPs finishing their innings 7/137.
Chasing 138 for victory, the Finbats sent in Ron and Nummy to open the batting. Unfortunately, both openers were back in the shed by the fourth over (2/39).
With Andy (26/16) and Blackie (25/22) both retiring and Hawk scoring the first 9 runs of the season Finbats where 2/103 at the halfway stage.
Telstra Shane also retired, (25/19) and the Finbats gained victory by the 16th over. The next four overs saw Paps, Tractor and Johnny (20/15) take the final score to 5/174.
A few honourable mentions; Paps for his bowling 2/7 (Finnys) and Alan Seymour 1/7 ( SOPs). The Man of the Match goes to Telstra Shane for his 25 runs and 1/10 for his bowling.
