Box 141-8 45 overs – Bears 145-1 24.5 overs
The Bears continued their good start to the season as they inflicted a crushing nine wicket defeat on their local rivals, Box. With a polar vortex swirling above the Glasshouse, a well wrapped up Bear Flat side took to the field after Box had elected to bat.
An early wicket apiece for opening bowlers Tom Harris and Jay Morris – Jay’s dismissal resulting from a ricocheted catch in the slips – put Box on the back foot from the start; however, solid if unspectacular contributions from Hayward, Welsby and Hall enabled Box to reach three figures as the Bear Flat slip cordon misfired in challenging conditions.
But the visitors were never quite able to throw the shackles off thanks to the controlled darts of the likeable Joe De Souza and the rhythmical seam bowling of the admirable George Ellis, who it’s great to see back and bowling so well after his life-threatening shoulder injury. The returning prodigal son, Ross Newman, added the decorative icing to the bowling cake as he returned excellent figures of 3-15 at the death as Box closed on 141-8 from their 45 overs.
On a decent pitch and quick(ish) outfield, the visitors’ total didn’t seem particularly daunting, and so it proved to be as the Bears cantered to victory inside 25 overs for the loss of just Skipper Gunning for 21, securing useful additional bonus points in the process. De Souza, getting his student rate money’s worth after nine overs with the ball, finished unbeaten on 47, alongside Newman, who was at his imperious best in scoring 63 in the blink of an eye.
