League match
Kings Norton 64 for 7 in 20 overs
(Rashid Ali 4-1-18-1, Louie Turpie 3-2-6-3, Tom Boyce 4-0-7-2, Omar Dawood 4-0-14-1, Umar Rehman 3-0-20-0, Luke Baker 2-1-4-0)
Kings Heath 70 for 0 in 11.0 overs
Josh Baker 26 not out
Umar Rehman 31 not out
Did not bat: Ben Rattley, Arjan Gihar, Louie Turpie, Aquib Khan, Luke Baker, Omar Dawood, Rashid Ali, Tom Boyce
KINGS HEATH WON BY 10 WICKETS
Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 3
10 men Kings Heath crushed Kings Norton & Weoley Hill by 10 wickets in the first league game of the season. After electing to field, Kings Heath felt the strain of the missing fielder with wide gaps through which Kings Norton initially scored freely. Captain Louie Turpie, fielding at deep fine leg during his bowling spell, adapted his plans by changing the bowlers frequently in search of wickets. Rashid bowled fast and straight, after terrifying the opposition batsmen the previous year, and was rewarded with a wicket. Omar Dawood, bowling left arm over the wicket, only conceded 14 runs during his four over spell. Luke Baker bowled two overs of off spin and quickly impressed the coach with his control of flight and his ability to outthink batsmen. Tom Boyce showed excellent control and achieved more bounce than the batters expected and collected two wickets. Louie returned for the death overs and was rewarded with three quick wickets, and was on a hat-trick at one stage. The bowling performance was marred only a poor standard fielding display. Four simple catches were put down and the ground fielding was little better. There was significant room for improvement but it was encouraging that opposition teams could be restricted to a low total despite bad fielding. The chase was always going to be comfortable, and the experimental batting order was not given a chance to reach the crease. The required runs were collected in clinical fashion with plenty of drives through the off side. The winning moment came with the scores level; Umar clipped a six off his legs into the midwicket fence.
