The SquizLog

A Fine Day for a Run Chase

Last Sunday was a fine day for travelling as my family drove to southern NSW to visit my parents.

And it would have been an excellent "seeing" day for batsmen. Which is just as well, because as Greg Mail and Eddie Cowan walked to the crease at Manly Oval to open the batting for Sydney University, their team required a mere 429 runs to win! Admittedly it was a flat track, as Test leg-spinner Stuart MacGill had found out the previous day when his bowling analysis was an unflattering 0/101 from 17 overs.

Mail fell early but then Cowan was joined by skipper Shane Stanton and all-rounder Ian Moran in two crucial partnerships that set up an astonishing victory.

Cowan's contribution? 253!!

I would love to have been there to witness what must have been a masterful innings from the little left-hander. Fortunately his team-mate Pete Sanders offered the following descriptions in his match report:

"Eddie’s innings does need a little mention though, I guess. Once he began unleashing a few imperious pull shots over and through mid-wicket around the 30 or 40 mark to couple his trademark drives “in the V”, people around the ground were thinking that this might be Eddie’s day. Having raced past 100 in the middle session, Eddie decided to mimic the actions of his self-confessed boyhood hero Dean Jones during his draining 210 in the famous 1986 Madras Tied Test by vomiting in the changerooms at tea. As the cool sea breeze was gently wafting across the square, everyone to a man agreed that the conditions at Manly Oval would have been very similar if not exactly the same as in Madras.

Eddie’s knock was brilliant. While everyone of course acknowledges the sheer magnitude of 253 runs, what perhaps deserves most recognition is how measured the innings was in the context of the day and the chase. Eddie looked in complete control from start to finish, and was never in doubt that we would get the runs. It was controlled yet commanding batsmanship. And of course he didn’t lose his honour in all of this, sacrificing his wicket on 253 in a Barnes-esque manner so as not to surpass the immortal Johnny Taylor."

And for those who think I might be making all this up, here is the official score card.

May the 2006/07 Australian season continue to provide such wonderful cricket!

Posted to Cricket by Keith Pitty