Old Boys go down with a fight against tough Kempton
Old Boys ended on 257/9 in 50 overs, falling short of the 291 target.
Brilliant Kempton Park defeated a brave CBC Old Boys outfit by 34 runs in a battle of the titans in the year’s ultimate Eastern Premier League encounter at CBC on December 1.
Having won the coin toss, Kempton backed themselves, elected to bat and never looked back.
Between the first and last ball delivered to their star-studded batting line-up, they had amassed a massive 291/4 in their allotted 50 overs, giving the hosts something to play for.
To their credit, the hosts did come out to play and did not let the imposing target distract from their game.
Old Boys’ in-form openers, captain Casey Arnold and Mark Pearse, enjoyed an early solid partnership to ignite some hope in the Old Boys camp as they combined for more than a 100 runs.
However, following their departure, Pearse (82) and Arnold (66), the runs slowed down for the hosts, leading them to fall short of the target which needed as little mistakes as possible.
Arnold said: “We’re a little bit disappointed, both Kempton’s Easterns players got a hundred and we ended up 30-odd runs short with myself and Pearse getting us to 140 without loss.
“We were in the game, maybe going just a little bit slowly, but it’s just a little disappointing to end up losing a game that we thought 290 on that wicket was good. It was very flat and we were in the game at 140 for naught, so little bit disappointed we lost to them.
“I’m also a little bit disappointed with our 50-over campaign so far, but I’m really proud. The boys have come a long way, we made the T20 final losing to Kempton and we are playing some good cricket. We really are competitive with the top teams.
“I would like us to be in a better position than we are, but I think we will still be good for the top six. We’ll be good for that and I think we’ll have a really good second round.”
Asked for his thoughts on the team’s overall performance up until the first round of play for the league, the skipper explained: “I think the boys are on the path to understanding. We are working harder and training better, so little bit disappointed with the loss, but the league has been very up-and-down for all the teams this year.
“We’re on the right track as a club. It’s taking a little bit longer, but like I said, we are making progress and scoring bigger scores. In 20/20 I think we are fantastic. We have a Battle of the Roses franchise for this year as well, so we’re on the right path.”
Arnold also led in the bowling front, finishing with 2/62 in 10 overs while teammate Matthew Varner ended with 1/40 in nine overs.
