Philip and Heinrich got of to a flying start by smashing 39 runs for the first skin, with Philip scoring 29 thanks to two journeys to the top of the back net by the ball. The second skin added 21 after our master blaster, Erik, was restricted by some great fielding. In the third skin Wimpie and Dirk added a useful 27 to get us within striking distance of our target. Needing a tight 31 of the last skin, Gerhard and Steve were bombarded by tight bowling and again some good fielding. The last skin only managed to add 15 runs, leaving us 18 runs short of the target. Highest score was by Philip with his 29. All in all a game we could have won on a good day, but again the Dirty 30’s shoveled some dirt in our eyes.

Man of the match: Philip with a net run contribution of 11.

We lost the first skin with their first skin producing 40, but then very tight bowling from Martin (3/-5) and Steve (2/5) limited their second skin to only 22. The third skin produced 29 runs and the last skin only 24, totaling 115, a win by 16 runs. We finally won a game after a series of losses, and hopefully this is the turn we've been waiting for before semifinals.

Steve has been nominated as man of the match by scoring 31 runs and bowling of 2/16, a net contribution of 15.

I thought the total may be competitive, but it proved not to be as the Tonkers' last pair scored 43 runs, with some big hitting, to end on 142. Again, I saw a few strange batting stances, but it proved to be effective. Although there were some good catches from Martin, Frank and Arnold, and a brilliant stop from Warren, our fielding has cost us the game. We struggled to keep the ball off the net and also to hit the wickets from our throw-ins.

All in all, I think the match was a closer contest than what the scoreboard said. Man of the match was Rob for his 15 runs and bowling figures of 3/8. Next time we'll do the tonking!

Result: Lost by 18 runs

The Nukes II played against Starex last night (Tuesday 29/03/2005). At first things seemed to be going our way with having to field first, backing ourselves to chase a target rather than setting one.
Our bowlers in the first skin got a bit of a hammering and the opposition came off with 52 on the board. Realizing that we need to keep things tight from here on in, we managed to restrict the second and third skins to 35 and 37 runs respectively. With Starex already on 124 and one skin to go it was time for some serious concentration and fielding. With brilliant bowling from Dugald (3/-6) and some fancy catching from Warren we managed to restrict the last skin to only 15, giving Starex a total of 139 runs.
Special mention:
Fast running from Ryan in beating two Starex batsmen to the wickets and getting stumpings on both occasions.
Outstanding bowling from Dugald in getting 3 wickets for -5 in his first over and 3 wickets for -6 in his second over.

It was now time for us to have a bat. With a target of 52 it was always a tall order for the first skin. Ryan and Rob went in and managed to make a respectable 21 for the first skin. Needing 35 for the second skin Dugald and Martin went in and scored a very good 16 of the first over. Things were starting to look as if we might have a chance. Starex recovered from that first over taking a few wickets. Dugald and Martin came off with adding another 36 runs and more importantly winning the skin. Warren and Reshendren were the next two batsmen in. With Reshendren known to always hit the bowlers for a few runs and Warren growing from strength to strength they managed to score 26 runs between them. Well done to Warren for a very good 14. We now had 83 on the board needing 140 to win. For the last skin Piet and Frank tried to take on the bowlers but unfortunately came second in terms of the required total. They managed to add another 34 to the Nukes II total ending the innings on 117 and falling 23 runs short of the expected total.

It has to be said that fielding is definitely costing us games. I think we will need to get serious if we want to compete. Maybe a few practice sessions aren't such a bad idea?

Man of the match: Dugald Smith with bowling figures of (6/-11) and 19 runs with the bat

Result: Won by 34 runs

It was a dark and stormy night - literally as well as for the Nukes oponents. The Nukes batted first and Phillip (77) and Steve got us off to a brilliant start. They shared the spoils in a 40 run opening stand that set the scene for a high scoring innings. Then the thunder really started to rumble as Erik (Spiderman) displayed his big hitting capabilities. Schalk rotated the strike with quick runs to give the master blaster the most of the strike. In the end they contributed 51 runs in their skin - the highest of the evening. Dirk and Wim then entered the arena and contributed a solid 33 runs to the Nukes total ensuring a total in excess of 120. Michael and Gerhard faced some hostile bowling in their skin, but kept the scoreboard ticking. Their partnership ended on 21 to give the Nukes a total of 146 - the highest total for us for a long time.

During the Nukes fielding stint, Erik had his Spiderman shoes on and leaped like a lock forward to take catches and force runouts. Wickets fell with regular intervals and our oponents fell behind quickly. The umpire made a few strange decisions tonight! Unfortunately all from Gerhard's bowling and this ruined his bowling figures. Best bowling came from Erik (3/5) and Dirk (2/2) with the rest chipping with good contributions to restrict Henswan to 112.

(Spider)Man of the match - Erik nett contribution 34.

Result: Lost by 67 runs

The Nukes II played against Mobile Ballistic on a miserable gloomy evening. The Nukes II batted first with Rob and Ryan batting the first skin. Some good shots but tight bowling and two run outs meant that the first skin produced 20 runs. Warren and I (Reshen) batted the second skin and it went much the same way. Even though both of us struck the ball well the opposition back stop seemed to be a magnet for the ball. I was caught 3 times and Warren once. We added another 17 to the total. Frank and Dugald took the third skin and got off to a slowish start but then got things going in the 11th over. Some energetic running from Dugald and generally good hitting from both guys. They added 22 runs. The skin was the turn of Steve and Piet. They went for the big hits and Steve was unlucky to be caught of the nets a couple of times. Despite a silly run out they still managed to set a target of 86.

The opposition batted well and comfortably made our meager total in the 3rd skin. The ended on close to 150! There was some good bowling all round with much fewer extras than usual. I managed to get two stumpings while there was some stunning catching from Steve and Piet.

I nominate the Warren King for man of the match with 13 runs scored and bowling figures of 10/3.
Ryan also did well with 15 runs and 25/2.

Result: Lost by 5 runs

Under Construction ....

Result: Lost by 28 runs

The Nukes II squared up against the Blizzards. The team: Frank, Reshendren, Martin, Dugald, Rob, Johan, Steve and Piet.
Cappy Rob lost the toss again, and we were sent in to bat first, myself (Frank) and Reshendren to open. We got of to a
slow but steady start, Reshen being victim of two unfortunate run-outs, then a flurry of 16 runs (13 to Reshen) in the
fourth over brings our tally up to 30 for the first skin. Second pair Dugald and Martin got off to a quick fire start, making 11
off their first over, but then Blizzards hauled out their big-gun bowlers, pinning us back to only 10 off the next three overs.
Rob and Johan got off to a disastrous start losing 3 wickets for -3 runs in their opening over, but stabilized and ended
on 17. Steve and Piet ended our batting spell with a spirited 28 against, once again, some seriously quick bowling by
Blizzards, bringing our tally to a respectable 96.

Blizzards in to bat, and I was pleased to get off to a good start, pinning them back to 2 for -5 in the first over, and we also
managed to take the first skin (the only one for the evening), Blizzards only managing to chalk up 21 runs. The second pair
slapped us around a bit, scoring 44 runs despite some good one-handed catching by Dugald and some fancy footwork by Piet.
The third batting pair were well restricted by some good bowling from Martin and Dugald and they only managed 21 runs, but
that was still enough to take the skin, unfortunately. Blizzards' last batting pair came on and we managed to hold them back
quite well for the first three overs, but then they opened up and slapped us again, making 21 off the last over, bringing their
total to 124, winning by 29 runs. In my opinion, a fair performance by all against a slightly superior team.

The guys were good enough to vote for myself as man of the match for my good bowling figures (3 for -1) and nett contribution of +16 for the game.

Result: Lost by 34 runs

Nukes came up against dirty 30's last night in the LATE NIGHT shift...{10pm}. Playing a match just before us the old boys had their eyes ready for some action. Like women in Japan, the Nukes came second (or not al all).

Bowling first the Nukes got off to the best start they could wish for with Schalk taking 2 wickets with the first 2 balls of the match. The first skin ending on 21. With the pressure still on the second skin ended with the dirties in the low forties. From here on in the wheels became a bit undone however with the opponents ending on 118. Not even Heinrich's hat trick with 3 run outs (Erik as usual and Gerhard combining with Dirk) could upset the final 2 pairs rhythm. No real big hitting, just playing the nets got them easily to their total.

The new opening pair of the Nukes in Heinrich (Steady Eddy) and Philip proofed to be steady... taking the skin by scoring 25. Philip hitting 23, his highest score of the season. Next pair in Erik and Schalk got bombarded by very accurate bowling and some excellent fielding. Two of Erik's low flying missiles resulted on a catch at the back net and a great save to restrict them to the mid forties at the end of their skin. With all the pressure on Michael and Gerhard did their best with Gerhard hitting 18 runs, including one hit that would have ended in Danville if it was not for the nets. Michael's new found form in hitting the ball like a Erik jnr resulted in some great catches being taken by the thirties, better luck next time. By the time Dirk and Wimpie came in the match was all but over with a last skin in excess of 50 required to win the game. Wim getting some straight deliveries troubling the varnish on his stumps.

But the game will be remembered by the good spirit in which it was played with both teams enjoying the competition, but one can't help to feel that the Nukes is much better than their performance on the evening. It was just one of those evenings.

Man of the match: Philip Le Roux with a net run contribution of 9.

Result: Lost by 8 runs

The Nukes II played against long-time rivals, The Sopranos yesterday. Pretty much the same team with one or two foreign-looking faces. Nukes went in to bat first, with Rob and Dugald opening up. 25 runs on the board after 3 overs but an unfortunate catch followed by a run out brought the skin's score down to 23, Dugald being Robbed, facing only 6 balls, hehe :). Ryan and Martin slogged a comfortable 38, facing some volatile yet vivacious deliveries. Reshen and Carel made 31, Carel hammering a lovely 21 of those. Steve and Piet went with the motions to pop on another 26 for the team, ending on 117.

Sopranos went in to bat and slapped the Nukes in the face with a heavy 55 (mostly as a result of some genetic engineering from the batsmen's parents.. abnormal stuff)! The next two skins wafted the total up to match Nukes' 117, after some good fielding, Steve and Ryan taking some good catches off the fence. Last skin and the Nukes are aiming for minus 1 to take the win. Tension is high and Steve approaches. 8 runs smacked away, then two wickets fall (great run-outs by Dugald)... back down to 120. (-3 to tie, -4 to win). Piet takes two wickets for zero runs, still on 120, hovering near the draw. Reshendren. Tight bowling. Two wickets for 1 run. Situation getting desperate. Tough stuff, Piet bowled a 1 for 4 in the last over, total score 125. Better luck next time Nukes, but an immensely exciting game, nevertheless...

Man of the Match: Pieter Viljoen, with a nett contribution of 7

Result: Lost by 10 runs

The toss was lost and the Nukes II were sent to bat first. The match started rather slow with only 38 runs after the first 8 overs. This was partly due to the 9 wickets lost! The last two overs were more productive in the sense that only 3 wickets were lost. Piet had success with the bat to get total of 25 runs. The final score was set at 106 runs.

The fielding started well with two quick runouts in the second over. The requirement for the final skin was to defend 22 runs. Although the fielding was tight the game was eventually lost by 12 runs. Overall the fielding was relatively tight resulting in two skins being won.

Best figures was Rob's 1/8 with the ball and Piet's 25 with the bat. Piet was chosen as man of the match with a net run contribution of 10.

Result: Won by 53 runs

The NUKES vs SARB and another well executed victory for the NUKES.

The NUKES was asked to bat first. Everybody contributed to the total, but a well batted 30 runs by Erik, as expected, and a very good 36 by Michael, these days also as expected, enabled the NUKES to put up a very defendable total of 134 runs. Wimpie and Dirk again batted the last skin and it looks like they are making this position their own with very solid batting. They made 20 for the last skin while Gerhard and Michael made 49 for the third skin and Erik and Schalk 36 for the second. Heinrich and Philip contributed 29 for the first skin.

In the field it was business as usual for the NUKES with tight bowling and sharp fielding. Although one or two should have run outs were not executed and a stolen run slipped through, it did not prove to be costly. The catches (quite a few!) also stuck. While Michael and Schalk took some sharp run outs, Erik as always guarding the back net very successfully. Gerhard took a hattrick and also had his bit of luck behind the wickets with a very well executed stumping. He told me that he practices this a lot at home (Yeah Right!). The ball beat the batsman, clipped Gehard's glove, hit the back net and on the re-bound broke the wickets resulting in the umpire giving a stumping to Gerhard! All in all a solid fielding performance with the NUKES taking away full points from the game.

Man of the Match: Gerhard, for hitting 13 runs and bowling figures of 5/-8 (net contribution of 21).

Result: Won by 42 runs

The second game for the Nukes II was the graveyard shift at 22h00 against the Playas. Our tails were up after our victory earlier and watching the Nukes winning their game. We started batting and performed well. Johan and Rob started with 20, Frank and Piet added 32, then Dirk and Carel managed a total of 47, while Erik and Steve had to show they could do better and added 48. That posted a total of 147, which should always be defendable! We had a bit of a fright when after 3 overs the Playas were already on 57, but then we got in gear and Piet managed to get one run back and the skin ended on 56. That was the beginning of the end and their following skins only managed to add 18, 18 and 13 respectively. In the end a comfortable victory of 42 runs, with again 3 skins in the bag.

Man of the match: Dirk, with a batting contribution of 29 and bowling figures of 7 runs for 3 wickets.

At the end of such a successful night, the match reviews at the bar also took way longer than usual, but then, we had something to celebrate!

Result: Won by 16 runs

Our opponents won the toss, but to our surprise requested that we bat first, which suited us just fine. For the second week in a row, we fiddled with the skin batting order. Heinrich and Philip opened with a solid partnership of 29. Erik and Schalk joined in the party with an excellent 45 of which Erik managed a top scoring 32 (that included two consecutive sixes). Gerhard and Michael added another 32, Wimpie and Dirk concluded the batting with a solid 26. We batted sensibly with minimum risk, played the nets and lost only 10 wickets in setting up a very defendable target of 132.

We only just lost the first skin when our opponents managed to get 30 runs. We applied the pressure in the second skin, restricting them to 21 runs (which also gave us the skin). Philip bowled an excellent surprise leg spinner that totally flummoxed the batsman, resulting in an easy pop-up catch for Schalk. We took some stick in the third skin, conceding 35 runs, which meant we lost the skin too.

At the start of the fourth skin, they required 47 runs for victory, which should have been quite difficult. Their batters however took to our bowling, so much so that they only required 9 runs of the final over! So, in came Mr BMT Gerhard and bowled the batsman with his second ball, which erased the three they scored of the first ball. The next ball resulted in a run-out, followed by a single, followed by a catch Erik took in left back corner, at which point the game was effectively won. The batsman tried to smash last ball through the back net, but missed the slower ball, which Philip duly turned into an easy stumping. An incredible final over at 4/-8. Gerhard had the best bowling figures of 4/6, followed by Philip with 2/8 and Erik with 3/9. Michael deserves a special mention for taking some brilliant catches at the back. The one-handed catch that nearly took his hand off will be remembered for a long time! Remarkably, we won the game by 16 runs, but only managed to win the second skin.

Man of the Match: Erik, for hitting 32 runs, bowling figures of 3/9 (net contribution of 23) and solid fielding and catching at the back.

Result: Won by 8 runs

The first game of the Nukes II for the night was against the Ball Brakers. We had decided to try and speed up our fielding effort by deciding all fielding positions up front and work with a dedicated 'floating' position, so that everyone knew what he was supposed to do from the start of the game. Also the bowlers were decided up front, with the provision that if any weakness from the opposition against one of our bowlers was detected, that we would modify the sequence. We also decided to field first, would we win the toss. As luck would have it, we didn't win the toss, but were still sent in to field first. Well, the strategy worked and there was definitely more activity in the field. We managed to keep the first skin down to 12. The second skin was also struggling with the bowling from Johan, so we modified the bowling order a bit and the total after the second skin was still only on 25. The third skin only managed to add 16 so by that time, the Ball Brakers were in deep trouble. In the final skin, the BB batsmen decided to break loose and managed to add another 44 against our best bowlers. Reshen deserves a special mentioning for consistency: After a very well bowled first over with only 1 run and 2 wickets, he managed to bowl 6 consecutive narrow leg-sides in the second! The total of 85 runs didn't put too much pressure on the Nukes batsmen and Reshen certainly made up for his second bowling over by hitting 20 in a fine partnership with Carel for 32. The Nukes II ended on 93, with 3 skins in the bag.

Man of the Match: Carel, who besides his fine batting had bowling figures of 5 runs for 3 wickets.

Result: Won by 17 runs

The Nukes played against Lazy 40's tonight. The oldies batted first and got of to a good start thanks to some ordinary bowling and rather lazy fielding by The Nukes. They managed to score 70 runs in the first two skins. In the third skin The Nukes suddenly got their ducks in a row, and we restricted our opponents to only 13 runs in this skin. The last skin also produced some tight bowling and our opponents ended up with a total of 104 runs. Erik and Wimpie were the pick of the bowlers with 2/6 and 2/7.

The Nukes got of to a solid start with every pair chipping in with a good partnership. Wimpie and Dirk scored the highest partnership of the innings with 38, and Dirk making the highest individual contribution of 24. The Nukes scored a total of 121 runs, assuring victory by 17 runs.

Man of the match was Erik, with a good all round performance of 2/6 with the ball and 21 with the bat – a net run contribution of 15.

Result: Lost by 21 runs

The Nukes II remained in the E5 league and played their first match against a new team, the Blizzards, on Friday. Rob lost the toss and the Nukes were sent in to field. A welcome change after the three (semi-) finals matches where we always opened batting and lost all the matches. However, it seemed that we needed the first two skins to wake up in the field, as before we knew it, the Blizzards did their name proud and were on 96 after two skins. We then clicked into gear and their third skin only managed to add 9 runs and although the fourth skin again managed to add another 45 runs, our fielding effort was more energetic and we were more succesful in getting run-outs and catches.

150 runs was always a huge target to obtain and although the first three skins didn't produce too bad with 26, 29 and 30 respectively, that left a huge 65 for Michael and Steve to get. They did a tremendous job, got a good number of fives and sevens, but unfortunately lost 5 wickets as well. They ended on 44, one short of the 45 of the Blizzards :-(  For the next game, we are definitely going to concentrate on getting that fielding effort going from the word go!

Man of the Match: Michael, with 6 wickets for 3 runs and a batting score of 28!