Well, there’s no disgrace in losing to Scotland by 373 runs. Oh no, wait!
I won’t lie. I’m not quite as enthused about writing this article as I normally would be. A 373-run defeat at the hands of the mighty Scots can, I’ve found, have a rather enthusiasm draining effect.
We dismissed the hosts for 270 then were ourselves dismissed for 259 in reply. Up to this point our efforts were basically a one man show. Steven Finn, playing his first Test match during my reign, recorded fantastic figures of 6-42 before striking an equally fantastic fifty, exactly. Jonny Bairstow also made bang on fifty. We may have reached parity had number eleven Mason Crane not been adjudged caught at short leg when he hit the ball into the ground and it then ricocheted up, hit his bat again and was caught. Despite reviewing, the Hampshire spinner was still given out. From that point on, we simply fell apart. Captain Joe Root dropped a catch in the first over of Scotland’s second innings and eighty overs later, a chance would be put down in Finn’s first over with the second new ball. In between the two drops off the bowling of Finn, eighty overs apart, we must have dropped approximately 13,578,921 chances!
Scots skipper Kyle Coetzer (145) and Richie Berrington (163) both hit chanceless (Ha!) centuries before we eventually dismissed our Northern neighbours for a whopping 512, just one wicketless delivery shy of the arrival of a second new ball!
Ben Duckett’s (22) attempt at a David Warnesque chase, lasted all of nine deliveries before Kent duo Daniel Bell-Drummond (53) and debutant Sam Northeast (27) appeared to lay the foundations for a record run chase. Not for the first time in the match though, Northeast threw his wicket away and DBD aside, our batting subsided as we collapsed to 150 all out and a mammoth 373-run defeat.
As both selector and coach of the side, this result leaves me with much to ponder in regards to whether or not I really am the right man to lead this side in the future…
Silly Point Cricket 