Thomas Shields

In the first match of the new season the Union Senior team went down in a high scoring encounter against Albion on one of the Don Field Artificial.

Albion won the toss and elected to bat on a wet outfield after heavy overnight rain had earlier led to discussions as to if cricket should be cancelled. However it was decided to continue and Albion started very slowly as they crawled to 47 for the loss of two wickets after the completion of 20 overs. It took till after the 20th over before the first boundary of the innings with the slow outfield making it hard for the batsmen to get proper reward for their shots. Despite the slow scoring they did have wickets in hand and some explosive hitting in the middle order. It took them 30 overs to score their first 100 runs but only 20 to get their next 126. Jeremy Smith was in fine form with the bat notching up 74 including 4 sixes and a broken window, while Steven Halliwell hit 3 boundaries in his 20. At the top of the order Gary Mahuika making his debut for his new club scored 33 with 3 fours and 2 sixes. For Union Matt Lilley took 4-46 of his 8.1 overs while Paul Johnston (2-44) and Duncan Drew (2-28) took two wickets each.

In stark contrast to the Albion innings Union got of to a great start racing away to 100-2 of 18 overs. Glynn Cameron and captain Thomas Shields combined for a 61 run third wicket partnership which saw their side into a good position in the match before Cameron was run out for 33. Shields and Sean Conlan kept Union on top as the required rate remained at less than a run a ball. With the dismissal of Shields (45) and then Conlan (45) Albion started to pile on the pressure. Union started to struggle with the tight bowling as they found trying to score the required runs difficult. Matt Lilley ended the game with a six but it wasn't enough as Union finished their 50 overs 6 runs short of victory - a win to Albion by 5 runs.

The Senior competition will now move to the Borton Cup competition, Union opening its account with a match against last years finalist Valley.

Player Pages:
Glynn Cameron | Sean Conlan | Paul Johnston | Mathew Lilley | Thomas Shields |

Albion 226 ( J. Smith 74, G. Mahuika 33, S. Halliwell 20, N. Smith 17, P. Cartwright 15, B. Kernahan 15, D. Mahuika 14, M. Lilley 4-46, D. Drew 2-28, P. Johnston 2-44 )
Union 221-8 ( T. Shields 46, S. Conlan 45, G. Cameron 33, C. Westergaard 17, D. Drew 12, M. Lilley 11no, N. Smith 4-33, M. Smith 2-55 )
Albion won by 5 runs
Full scorecard for the match